Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country
Copyright © 2014 Cambridge University Press.Obesity is pandemic, but no consensus has yet emerged regarding appropriate tools for measuring it. Medical research based on populations in the developed world has largely dismissed body mass index (BMI) because it is a weak predictor of some health outco...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62830 |
| _version_ | 1848760923301347328 |
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| author | Sohn, Kitae |
| author_facet | Sohn, Kitae |
| author_sort | Sohn, Kitae |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Copyright © 2014 Cambridge University Press.Obesity is pandemic, but no consensus has yet emerged regarding appropriate tools for measuring it. Medical research based on populations in the developed world has largely dismissed body mass index (BMI) because it is a weak predictor of some health outcomes. In contrast, social science research still relies on it for its simplicity and ready availability in surveys. This paper uses consistent definitions and measures to select sufficiently good predictors of health and economic outcomes from among the anthropometrics that are considered alternatives to BMI. The results from the Indonesian Family Life Survey indicate that BMI and waist circumference are better predictors than waist-to-height ratio and waist-to-hip ratio. This paper argues that given its advantages, BMI is an adequate measure of obesity for Indonesia and possibly for the developing world. Further, if BMI is to be replaced, waist circumference is preferable to other anthropometrics. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:23:29Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-62830 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:23:29Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-628302018-02-01T05:58:35Z Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country Sohn, Kitae Copyright © 2014 Cambridge University Press.Obesity is pandemic, but no consensus has yet emerged regarding appropriate tools for measuring it. Medical research based on populations in the developed world has largely dismissed body mass index (BMI) because it is a weak predictor of some health outcomes. In contrast, social science research still relies on it for its simplicity and ready availability in surveys. This paper uses consistent definitions and measures to select sufficiently good predictors of health and economic outcomes from among the anthropometrics that are considered alternatives to BMI. The results from the Indonesian Family Life Survey indicate that BMI and waist circumference are better predictors than waist-to-height ratio and waist-to-hip ratio. This paper argues that given its advantages, BMI is an adequate measure of obesity for Indonesia and possibly for the developing world. Further, if BMI is to be replaced, waist circumference is preferable to other anthropometrics. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62830 10.1017/S0021932013000692 Cambridge University Press restricted |
| spellingShingle | Sohn, Kitae Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country |
| title | Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country |
| title_full | Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country |
| title_fullStr | Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country |
| title_short | Sufficiently good measures of obesity: The case of a developing country |
| title_sort | sufficiently good measures of obesity: the case of a developing country |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/62830 |