Body mass index in aboriginal Australians in remote communities

Area of Science:

• Nutritional epidemiology
• Anthropometry
• Indigenous health

Background:

• Understanding the nutritional status of Aboriginal populations in remote areas is crucial for public health.
• Body Mass Index (BMI) distribution and prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) and obesity vary significantly across different populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the Body Mass Index (BMI) distribution in Aborigines from remote communities (ARC) in Australia's Northern Territory.
• To estimate the prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) and obesity within this specific population group.

Main Methods:

• Construction of BMI centile charts using Cole's LMS method for 1,138 Aborigines (aged 5-77 years) from three remote Tiwi Islands communities.
• Comparison of ARC BMI centiles with European, American white, and American black reference charts.
• Comparative analysis of CED and obesity prevalence against a national Indigenous Australian sample.

Main Results:

• BMI centiles exhibit age-dependent variations in ARC.
• ARC children and adult males generally have lower BMIs than reference populations.
• Young adult ARC females show higher BMIs than American white and French counterparts up to age 45.
• Older ARC individuals (over 50 years) tend to be leaner.
• The ARC sample demonstrates a higher prevalence of CED and a lower prevalence of obesity compared to the national Indigenous sample.

Conclusions:

• BMI centile curves provide a contemporary measure of nutritional status in remote Aboriginal communities.
• Nutritional status, as indicated by BMI, differs significantly between ARC and other populations.
• These findings necessitate consideration of unique nutritional profiles when developing health interventions for ARC.
• Developed centile charts serve as a tool for health workers to assess individual BMI relative to the ARC population.