BMI sucked a lot of my time making this list

Years ago, I made this list of articles that prove certain things, about body weight, body fat and BMI.

But you stopped in 2002 or thereabouts, and started becoming a party animal, am I right?

This is not an entirely boring bibliography! (OK, it might be slightly dull). Beside each article listed about Body Mass Index (BMI), there are my personal comments, which are sometimes critical. There are graphics and charts to illustrate my point of view. Become an expert – read and see why experts disagree sometimes.

Bibliography of Body Mass Index BMI and body fat references.

Students of body mass index will find many of the important scientific publications about body composition listed here.

BMI body mass index articles

Medical Journal Article:		My Comments:
1.	Bulik CM,Wade TD, Heath AC, Martin NG, Stunkard AJ, Eaves LJ. Relating body mass index to figural stimuli: population-based normative data for Caucasians. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Oct 2001;25(10):1517-24	*Fantastic*. Body pictures that judge overweight and underweight.
2.	Tovee MJ, Reinhardt S, Emery JL, Cornelissen PL. Optimum body-mass index and maximum sexual attractiveness. Lancet, Aug 1998;352(9127):548	*Sexual Attractiveness* determined by BMI, for young women.
Doc put sex and body pictures into the top two. And that’s the end of the titillation.
3.	Kuczmarski RJ, Carroll MD, Flegal KM, Troiano RP. Varying body mass index cutoff points to describe overweight prevalence among U.S. adults: NHANES III ( 1988 to 1994). Obes Res, Nov 1997;5(6):542-8	The new official definition of Overweight.
4.	Prentice AM, Jebb SA. Beyond body mass index. Obes Rev 2001 Aug;2(3):141-7	Limitations and problems* using BMI.*
5.	Kuczmarski RJ, Flegal KM. Criteria for definition of overweight in transition: background and recommendations for the United States. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Nov;72(5):1067-8.	The History of Body Mass Index criteria in America, 1985 to present.
6.	Poskitt, EM. Body mass index and child obesity: are we nearing a definition? Acta Paediatr, May 2000;89(5):507- 509	WHO criteria for "adults" are really for Age 18* year olds.*
7.	Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ 2000 May 6;320(7244):1240-3	An International overweight definition that differs from the WHO. Age 18* again!*
8.	Maynard LM, Wisemandle W, Roche AF, et al. Childhood body composition in relation to body mass index. Pediatrics, Feb 2001;107(2):344-50	Another article confirming that adult standards are based on age 18.
Wow. 3 thru 8 are full of conspiracy theorizing. It’s entertaining.
9.	Must A, Dallal GE, Dietz WH. Reference data for obesity: 85th and 95th percentiles of body mass index (wt/ht2) and triceps skinfold thickness. Am J Clin Nutr, Apr 1991;53(4):839-46	The new CDC overweight criteria – reverting* to 1974?*
10.	Flegal KM, Troiano RP. Changes in the distribution of body mass index of adults and children in the US population. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Jul 2000;24(7):807-18	Americans are fatter now, compared to 20 years ago.
11.	Wellens RI, Roche AF, Khamis HJ, et al. Relationships between the Body Mass Index and body composition. Obes Res, Jan 1996;4(1):35-44	Good BMI overweight criteria for 31 year olds.
12.	Deurenberg P, Weststrate JA, Seidell JC. Body mass index as a measure of body fatness: age- and sex-specific prediction formulas. Br J Nutr, Mar 1991;65(2):105-14	A Body Fat % formula.
13.	Price RA, Sorensen TI, Stunkard AJ. Component distributions of body mass index defining moderate and extreme overweight in Danish women and men. Am J Epidemiol, Jul 1989;130(1):193-201	Alternate BMI thresholds for overweight.
14.	Frankenfield DC, Rowe WA, Cooney RN, Smith JS, Becker D. Limits of body mass index to detect obesity and predict body composition. Nutrition, 2001 Jan;17(1):26-30	Body fat percentage versus BMI in super obese people.
15.	Curtin F, Morabia A, Pichard C, Slosman DO. Body mass index compared to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry: evidence for a spectrum bias. J Clin Epidemiol, Jul 1997;50(7):837-43	I re-interpret their study, into useful data.
Dr. Halls gets fuming mad at #15, sarcastic with #16, and daydreams about #17.
16.	Bagust A, Walley T. An alternative to body mass index for standardizing body weight for stature. QJM, Sep 2000;93(9):589-96	BMI isn’t the only formula in the world. An alternative.
17.	Kaneshiro B, Jensen JT, Carlson NE., et al. Body Mass Index and Sexual Behavior. Obstet Gynecol, Sept 2008; 112:586-92	So-called overweight women with BMI between 25 to 30 actually have the most sex.

Children and Adolescents

1.	Reilly JJ, Dorosty AR, Emmett PM, et al. Identification of the obese child: adequacy of the body mass index for clinical practice and epidemiology. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Dec 2000;24(12):1623-7	Children Age 7 obesity criteria, methods.
2.	Sardinha LB, Going SB, Teixeira PJ, Lohman TG. Receiver operating characteristic analysis of body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness, and arm girth for obesity screening in children and adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr, Dec 1999 ;70(6):1090-5	Children’s overweight BMI criteria from Portugal.
3.	White EM, Wilson AC, Greene SA, et al. Body mass index centile charts to assess fatness of British children. Arch Dis Child, Jan 1995;72(1):38-41	Scottish and French Children’s BMI compared.
4.	Hannan WJ, Wrate RM, Cowen SJ, Freeman CP. Body mass index as an estimate of body fat. Int J Eat Disord, Jul 1995;18(1):91-7	Adolescent girls body fat percentage versus their BMI.
5.	da Veiga GV, Dias PC, dos Anjos LA. A comparison of distribution curves of body mass index from Brazil and the United States for assessing overweight and obesity in Brazilian adolescents. Rev Panam Salud Publica, Aug 2001;10(2):79-85	Brazil adolescents BMI.
6.	Schaefer F, Georgi M, Wuhl E, Scharer K. Body mass index and percentage fat mass in healthy German schoolchildren and adolescents. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, May 1998;22(5):461-9	Childrens BMI of 6 nations compared. Children’s body fat percentiles too.
7.	Malina RM, Katzmarzyk PT. Validity of the body mass index as an indicator of the risk and presence of overweight in adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr, Jul 1999;70(1):131S-6S	Adolescent’s BMI cutoffs are pretty close to perfect, maybe slightly too high.
8.	Goodman E, Hinden BR, S Khandelwal S. Accuracy of teen and parental reports of obesity and body mass index. Pediatrics, Jul 2000;106(1 Pt 1):52-8	Adolescent BMI cutoffs for obesity seem accurate.
9.	Rosner B, Prineas R, Loggie J, Daniels SR. Percentiles for body mass index in U.S. children 5 to 17 years of age. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Oct 2001;25(10):1517-24	A HUGE study of American Children, implicitly questions the CDC overweight criteria.
10.	Sampei MA, Novo NF, Juliano Y, Sigulem DM. Comparison of the body mass index to other methods of body fat evaluation in ethnic Japanese and Caucasian adolescent girls. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Mar 2001;25(3):400-8	28% and 30% body fat are good obesity thresholds for adolescent girls.
11.	Lazarus R, Baur L, Webb K, Blyth F. Body mass index in screening for adiposity in children and adolescents: systematic evaluation using receiver operating characteristic curves. Am J Clin Nutr, Apr 1996;63(4):500-6	Agrees with CDC 85th and 95th percentile Overweight criteria, even in Australian kids.
12.	Cole TJ, Roede MJ. Centiles of body mass index for Dutch children aged 0-20 years in 1980–a baseline to assess recent trends in obesity. Ann Hum Biol, Jul 1999;26(4):303-8	Dutch children’s BMI distribution.
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Race and National differences

1.	Gilmore J. Body mass index and health. Health Reports, Jan 1999; 11(1):31-43. (Statistics Canada).	*Canadians*! Their BMI criteria and average weights.
2.	Chinn S, Rona RJ. International definitions of overweight and obesity for children: a lasting solution? Ann Hum Biol 2002 May-Jun;29(3):306-13	At Age=19.5 overweight is above BMI=25 in the United Kingdom.
3.	Deurenberg-Yap M, Schmidt G, van Staveren WA, Deurenberg P. The paradox of low body mass index and high body fat percentage among Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Aug 2000;24(8):1011-7	Singapore Asians need lower BMI overweight thresholds.
4.	Rolland-Cachera MF, Cole TJ, Sempe M, et al. Body Mass Index variations: centiles from birth to 87 years. Eur J Clin Nutr, Jan 1991;45(1):13-21	The French, are less fat than Americans. BMI charts.
5.	Deurenberg P, Deurenberg-Yap M. Differences in body-composition assumptions across ethnic groups: practical consequences. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2001 Sep;4(5):377-83	Summary of reasons why Asians and Black Americans need different BMI criteria.
6.	Hebebrand J, Himmelmann GW, Heseker H, et al. Use of percentiles for the body mass index in anorexia nervosa: diagnostic, epidemiological and therapeutic considerations. Int J Eat Disord, May 1996;19(4):359-69	German data, showing gradual increase in BMI during adulthood.
7.	Wang J, Thornton JC, Burastero S, et al. Comparisons for body mass index and body fat percent among Puerto Ricans, blacks, whites and Asians living in New York City area. Obes Res, Jul 1996;4(4):377-84	New York’s White, Black, Asian, Puerto Rican, mean BMI and Body Fat percentages.
8.	Deurenberg P, Yap M, van Staveren WA. Body mass index and percent body fat: a meta analysis among different ethnic groups. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Dec 1998;22(12):1164-71	Different BMI overweight thresholds for different races.
9.	He M, Tan KC, Li ET, Kung AW. Body fat determination by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and its relation to body mass index and waist circumference in Hong Kong Chinese. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, May 2001;25(5):748-52	Hong Kong Chinese need lower BMI obesity and overweight thresholds.
10.	Jackson AS, Stanforth PR, Gagnon J, et a.l The effect of sex, age and race on estimating percentage body fat from body mass index: the Heritage Family Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Jun 2002;26(6):789-96	No difference between Black and White American’s body fat % versus BMI. Age affects body fat.
11.	Hebebrand J, Himmelmann GW, Wewetzer C, Gutenbrunner C, et al. Body weight in acute anorexia nervosa and at follow-up assessed with percentiles for the body mass index: implications of a low body weight at referral. Int J Eat Disord, May 1996;19(4):347-57	German BMI percentiles shown. Anorexia BMI values at diagnosis and follow-up.
12.	Norgan NG. Population differences in body composition in relation to the body mass index. Eur J Clin Nutr, Nov 1994;48 Suppl 3:S10-25; discussion S26-7	Rural non-Europeans body fat % versus BMI is similar worldwide.
13.	Gallagher D, Visser M, Sepulveda D et al. How useful is body mass index for comparison of body fatness across age, sex, and ethnic groups? Am J Epidemiol, Feb 1996;143(3):228-39	No difference between New York’s Black and White persons BMI and body fat.
14.	Wang J, Thornton JC, Russell M,et al. Asians have lower body mass index (BMI) but higher percent body fat than do whites: comparisons of anthropometric measurements. Am J Clin Nutr, Jul 1994;60(1):23-8	Asians have higher body fat at lower BMI than whites.
15.	Deurenberg P, Andreoli A, Borg P et al. The validity of predicted body fat percentage from body mass index and from impedance and in samples of five European populations. Eur J Clin Nutr, Nov 2001;55(11):973-9	For Europeans, BMI criteria are OK. Body fat percentages used.
16.	Choo V. WHO reassesses appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations. The Lancet, Jul 2002 20;360(9328):235	World Health Organization sets lower BMI criteria for Asians.
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Older Adults

1.	Sardinha LB, Teixeira PJ. Obesity screening in older women with the body mass index: a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Science and Sports, Jul 2000; 15: 212-9	*Elderly women’s* BMI overweight criteria.
2.	Launer LJ, Harris T. Weight, height and body mass index distributions in geographically and ethnically diverse samples of older persons. Age Ageing. 1996 Jul;25(4):300-6.	In Elderly adults, an apparently overweight BMI does not cause poor health.
3.	Allison DB, Zhu SK, Plankey M, FaithMS, Heo M. Differential associations of body mass index and adiposity with all-cause mortality among men in the first and second National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES I and NHANES II) follow-up studies. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Mar 2002;26(3):410-6	A BMI of 27.3 has the lowest mortality rate in older adults.
4.	Bedogni G, Pietrobelli A, Heymsfield SB et al. Is body mass index a measure of adiposity in elderly women? Obes Res, Jan 2001;9(1):17-20	Elderly women’s body fat is about 5% greater than younger women.
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