Body mass index and morbidity in adult males of the War Khasi in Northeast India

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Abstract
Objective: Data on the relationship between obesity, or high body mass index (BMI), and morbidity in adult individuals are frequently reported, but little is known about the relationship between morbidity and low BMI especially in developing countries. The present study was therefore an attempt to evaluate the relationship between BMI and morbidity in adult individuals. Design: The analyses were derived from the data based on self-reported morbidity and anthropometric measurements taken on adult males. The results were presented according to age and income groups for individuals of reporting and non-reporting illness. Subjects: The total sample size was 575 adult males (18–59 y) of the War Khasi population. Setting: Rural area of the state of Meghalaya in Northeast India. Results: The prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) was found to be 35%, although the mean BMI (20.06±2.65 kg/m2) in individuals of non-reporting illness was higher than in those reported for many populations of Northeast India. The relationship between BMI and reported illness was not significant, although the morbidity curve tended to be U-shaped, and the prevalence of reported illness (32%) was highest in the individuals with BMI below 17.0 kg/m2. Moreover, the suggested cut-off 18.5 of BMI for screening the prevalence of CED did not correspond with the rise in morbidity, but both BMI and morbidity were significantly associated with age and income of the household. Conclusion: In view of the present analysis and other related literature, BMI is likely to be a better indicator of standards of living than a predictor of illness as the latter may also predispose individuals to the former. Thus, morbidity and low BMI may be considered parts of ill health, which are influenced by a number of biological and environmental factors especially age, economic conditions, undernutrition, safe water sanitation, community pathogens, prevention and control measures of locally endemic diseases and infections.