Logo image
Body Mass Index Misclassification of Obesity Among Community Police Officers
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Body Mass Index Misclassification of Obesity Among Community Police Officers

Mohammad H Alasagheirin, M Kathleen Clark, Sandra L Ramey and Esack F Grueskin
AAOHN Journal, Vol.59(11), p.469
11/01/2011
DOI: 10.1177/216507991105901102
url
https://doi.org/10.1177/216507991105901102View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

  Research Abstract Occupational health nurses are at the forefront of obesity assessment and intervention and must be aware of potential inaccuracies of obesity measurement. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of obesity among a sample of 84 male police officers 22 to 63 years old and determine the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) in estimating obesity compared to body fat percent (BF %). BMI identified 39.3% of the participants as obese, compared to 70.2% by BF %. BMI misclassified normal-weight officers as obese or overweight and obese officers as normal 48.8% ( n = 41) of the time. The two misclassified groups had similar average BMIs but significantly different BF %. BMI was not an accurate measure of obesity among adult males. BMI underestimated the true prevalence of obesity and could represent a missed opportunity for early intervention and disease prevention.
Obesity Health Insurance Disease Occupational Health Performance evaluation Body mass index Task forces Nutrition Nurses Police Methods

Details

Metrics

63 Record Views
Logo image