Body mass index as predictor for body fat:comparison between Chinese and Dutch adult subjects

The relation between body mass index (kg/m2) and body fat from body density was compared in a group of Chinese and Dutch healthy subjects in relation to sex and age. The Dutch group was selected in relation to the Chinese group in that age, weight, height and body mass index did not exceed the maximal observed values of the Chinese subjects. Mean weight, height and body mass index was higher in the Dutch group, but body fat from density did not differ between the groups. Body fat predicted from body mass index, age and sex did not differ from the value obtained by densitometry in both countries. The correlation between measured body fat and predicted body fat was 0.84 (p<0.01) in the Chinese and 0.90 (p<0.01) in the Dutch. The difference between measured and predicted body fat was related to the level of body fatness (r=0.55, p<0.01), but did not differ between the countries. In different age groups there were slight differences in the measured minus predicted values of the countries, but these differences were less after correcting for differences in the level of body fatness in each age group. It is concluded that the relation between body fatness and body mass index is not different between the two studied populations.