Category Archive for: ‘Body mass index’


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BMI Categories:

  • Underweight = BMI below 18.5
  • Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
  • Overweight = 25-29.9
  • Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Body mass index and coronary heart disease

 BMI not related to CHD mortality

Body mass index (BMI=Weight/height2) is the most frequently used indicator of body fatness. In middle-aged men of the SCS, BMI was inconsistently related to 10- and 25-year CHD mortality.

Weight fluctuation linked to increased CHD risk

Changes in body weight during the first 10 years of follow-up were related to CHD mortality during the following 15 year. Middle-aged men who gained more than 2 kg, put on an average weight of 7 kg. They had a 20% greater CHD mortality risk (not statistically significant) compared to those whose weight remained stable. A similar result was obtained in men who decreased more than 2 kg weight and lost on average 5 kg. Men were defined as “fluctuating” when their weight at the second examination differed more than 2 kg with their weight at examination 1 or 3. These men lost on average 1 kg and had a significant 50% higher CHD mortality risk compared to those who kept their weight constant. These results indicated that fluctuating weight, the so-called yo-yo effect, rather than BMI per se, was associated with greater CHD risk.
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