Sensitivity of body mass index as a current criterion of nutrition: new body mass index redefinition for young adults.

BMI cut-off values for female university students across four nutritional categories were lower than standard WHO thresholds.

• Sample included 675 female university students.
• BMI cut-off for the athlete criterion was 21.97 kg/m2.
• BMI cut-off for the fit criterion was 22.01 kg/m2.
• BMI cut-off for the normally nourished criterion was 23.18 kg/m2.
• BMI cut-off for the overweight criterion was 27.29 kg/m2.

BMI cut-off values for male university students across four nutritional categories differed from standard WHO thresholds, with higher values than females.

• Sample included 597 male university students.
• BMI cut-off for the athlete criterion was 23.70 kg/m2.
• BMI cut-off for the fit criterion was 25.66 kg/m2.
• BMI cut-off for the normally nourished criterion was 26.63 kg/m2.
• BMI cut-off for the overweight criterion was 29.60 kg/m2.

Percentage of body fat (PBF) measured by multichannel bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to establish obesity criteria in four categories for a university student population.

• Total sample consisted of 1272 university students divided by gender.
• PBF was measured using the InBody 720 multichannel bioelectrical impedance analysis device.
• Percentile distribution was used to establish PBF-based obesity criteria.
• Four nutritional categories were defined: athlete, fit, normally nourished, and overweight.

Gender-specific differences in BMI cut-off values were observed, with males showing consistently higher BMI thresholds than females across all four nutritional categories.

• For the athlete criterion, the male cut-off (23.70 kg/m2) was 1.73 kg/m2 higher than the female cut-off (21.97 kg/m2).
• For the overweight criterion, the male cut-off (29.60 kg/m2) was 2.31 kg/m2 higher than the female cut-off (27.29 kg/m2).
• For the normally nourished criterion, the male cut-off (26.63 kg/m2) was 3.45 kg/m2 higher than the female cut-off (23.18 kg/m2).
• These differences reflect gender-specific body composition characteristics captured by PBF measurement.

The standard BMI criteria are insufficient for accurately classifying nutritional status in young adult university students.

• The study found that existing standard BMI criteria for young adults are 'not specifically accurate regarding obesity.'
• The proposed female overweight BMI threshold of 27.29 kg/m2 differs from the standard WHO overweight threshold of 25.0 kg/m2.
• The proposed male overweight BMI threshold of 29.60 kg/m2 is close to but below the standard WHO obesity threshold of 30.0 kg/m2.
• The authors propose redefining BMI nutritional status criteria based on PBF specifically for young adult subjects.