The new index Body Mass Abdominal Index (BMAI) has been derived by combining two separate indices – weight for height and waist for height ratios. Our study investigated the relationship of common indicators of abdominal adiposity – waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist-height ratio (WHTR), conicity index (CI) and newly proposed body mass abdominal index (BMAI) with body mass index (BMI) among 347 pre-school children of Purulia District, India. Results showed that significant correlations were observed for all adiposity measures except WHR. A noteworthy point was that the correlations were strongest (p < 0.01) with BMAI (boys: r = 0.863, girls: r = 0.863). The correlations of BMAI with BMI were similar in both sexes. In conclusion, our results indicate that the new index BMAI has a distinct advantage as it relates much strongly with overall adiposity (BMI) than the other commonly used indicators of adiposity.

Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2011; 5(1): 9-12

Key Words: Pre-school children, body mass index, body mass abdominal index, India.

Address for Correspondence:Dr. Kaushik Bose, Reader in Biological Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore–721 102, West Bengal, India, E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]