To optimize the prevention, diagnosis, and management of T2D, revisions of ethnicity-specific BMI cutoffs for obesity are needed for minority populations, according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Investigators conducted a population-based study to prospectively identify ethnicity-specific BMI cutoffs for obesity based on the risk for T2D that are risk-equivalent to the cutoff among White populations. Data were included for nearly 1.5 million people, of whom 90.6%, 5.2%, 3.4%, 0.7%, and 0.2% were White, South Asian, Black, Chinese, and Arab, respectively. The study team found that 6.6% of individuals were diagnosed with T2D after a median follow-up of 6.5 years. For equivalent age- and sex-adjusted incidence of T2D at a BMI of 30.0 kg/m2 in White populations, the BMI cutoffs for South Asian, Black, Chinese, and Arab populations were 23.9 kg/m2, 28.1 kg/m2, 26.9 kg/m2, and 26.6 kg/m2, respectively. “This far-reaching, extensive study has shed light on a worrying generalization of BMI cutoffs for obesity, which comes at the expense of those from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds,” a coauthor said in a statement. “A complete revision of ethnic-specific BMI cutoffs to trigger action to prevent T2D are needed.”
