(Press-News.org) Background and Goal: Although body mass index (BMI) is widely used in clinics as the standard measure of body composition, it can potentially misclassify muscular individuals as overweight and miss cases of "normal-weight obesity," masking serious metabolic and heart disease risks. This study examined BMI vs body fat percentage for 15-year mortality risk among adults aged 20-49 years.
Study Approach: Researchers from the University of Florida analyzed data from 4,252 participants in the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized U.S. adults ages 20 to 49. All participants had complete technician measured body composition data, including height, weight and waist circumference. Body-fat percentage was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Records were linked to the National Death Index through 2019.
Main Results:
Adults with a high body-fat percentage (27% or more in men; 44% or more in women) were 1.78 times more likely to die from any cause than individuals in the healthy body fat range (HR 1.78; 95% CI, 1.28 to 2.47). Adults with a high body-fat percentage were also 3.62 times more likely to die from heart disease (HR 3.62; 95% CI, 1.55 to 8.45).
Overweight/obese BMI (25 kg/m² or higher) was not associated with a statistically significant higher risk of death from any cause, compared with adults in the healthy BMI range (HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.84).
Adults with a high waist circumference (more than 40 inches in men; more than 35 inches in women) were 1.59 times more likely to die from any cause than individuals in the healthy range (HR 1.59; 95% CI, 1.12 to 2.26). Adults with a high waist circumference were also 4.01 times more likely to die from heart disease (HR 4.01; 95% CI, 1.94 to 8.27).
Why It Matters: The study findings support reexamining how body composition is measured in clinical settings. Historically, it has been difficult to measure body fat percentage in primary care outpatient settings. New bioelectrical impedance devices have the potential to change this.
Body Mass Index vs Body Fat Percentage as a Predictor of Mortality in Adults Aged 20-49 Years
Frank A. Orlando, MD, et al
Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
TEMPORARY LINK
This study has been published as an early access article on the Annals of Family Medicine website. Please share the link associated with the title text of the study (this one: Body Mass Index vs Body Fat Percentage as a Predictor of Mortality in Adults Aged 20-49 Years)
END
Body fat percentage beats BMI in predicting 15-year mortality risk among U.S. adults ages 20 to 49
Body mass index vs body fat percentage as a predictor of mortality in adults aged 20-49 years
2025-07-28
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Umbrella review summarizes family physicians’ experiences with clinical integration
2025-07-28
Background and Goal: Clinical integration involves coordinating ongoing health care services across health professionals, facilities, and support systems to meet patient care needs. Researchers aimed to map out barriers and facilitators perceived by family physicians in clinical integration to guide future intervention development.
Study Approach: Researchers examined systematic review studies published from 2010 to 2022. Researchers adopted a “best-fit framework approach” to organize findings into themes and subthemes. They then validated the framework with another 21 reviews published between 2022 and 2024.
Main Results: ...
HEAL protocol addresses human trafficking in Brazilian primary care
2025-07-28
Primary care is often the first or only contact point for human trafficking survivors. In the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, professionals from the health, social services, and justice sectors collaborated to adapt and translate the U.S.-based HEAL Trafficking Protocol Toolkit to the Brazilian context. The toolkit equips health care professionals with the knowledge and tools to identify, and respond to, potential victims of human trafficking in a trauma-informed and patient-centered manner. Since September 2023, the Brazilian Protocol Toolkit page on the HEAL website has received ...
Study finds uneven progress toward diabetes goals across patient groups in the enhanced primary care diabetes program
2025-07-28
Background and Goal: The Enhanced Primary Care Diabetes (EPCD) model is a nurse-led care delivery model that leverages multidisciplinary support to improve diabetes care quality in primary care settings. This study assessed whether patients of different racial and ethnic groups benefited equally.
Study Approach: The authors reviewed health records for 1,749 adults aged 18 to 75 years from 13 family medicine and internal medicine practices in Mayo Clinic Rochester who joined the EPCD program from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. They ...
Veterans experiencing homelessness who secure housing more likely to get cancer health screenings
2025-07-28
Editorial
Background: This editorial reviews Decker et al’s study of more than 100,000 veterans experiencing homelessness who were overdue for colorectal or breast cancer screening. About 57,000 secured housing during a 24-month window and were more than twice as likely to get screened after doing so.
Editorial Stance: The author calls the findings from Decker et al a “rare, measurable improvement” in care for people who have experienced homelessness. Although causality cannot be claimed from this observational work, the author praises the ...
Family physicians improve rural maternity outcomes but those in high-need states need support
2025-07-28
Background and Goal: This study explores the geographic distribution of family physicians providing maternity care and identifies opportunities for family physicians to expand access to maternity care.
Study Approach: The study merged county-level counts of OB-GYNs, certified nurse-midwives, and hospitals offering obstetric services from the 2021–2022 HRSA Area Health Resource File with 2013–2021 American Board of Family Medicine data on family physicians who reported delivering babies.
Researchers used ...
Tip sheet summaries Annals of Family Medicine July/August 2025
2025-07-28
Editorial
Veterans Experiencing Homelessness Who Secure Housing More Likely to Get Cancer Health Screenings
Background: This editorial reviews Decker et al’s study of more than 100,000 veterans experiencing homelessness who were overdue for colorectal or breast cancer screening. About 57,000 secured housing during a 24-month window and were more than twice as likely to get screened after doing so.
Editorial Stance: The author calls the findings from Decker et al a “rare, measurable improvement” in care for ...
TFLN-based RGB multiplexer for energy-efficient laser beam scanning
2025-07-28
As technology advances, photonic systems are gaining ground over traditional electronics, using light to transmit and process information more efficiently. One such optical system is laser beam scanning (LBS), where laser beams are rapidly steered to scan, sense, or display information. This technology is used in applications ranging from barcode scanners at grocery stores to laser projectors in light shows. To process a wider range of signals or enable full-color output, these systems utilize multiplexers that merge the red, green, and blue (RGB) laser beams into a single beam.
Traditionally, this was achieved ...
On a Florida bombing range, endangered woodpeckers get a second chance
2025-07-28
Florida’s Avon Park bombing range is teeming with life. Over 40 at-risk species occupy this 106,000-acre expanse used by the U.S. Air Force for training exercises.
Conservation biologists from Michigan State University are using the range to test something other than weapons: innovative strategies to save threatened species.
Using decades’ worth of monitoring data, researchers are looking back through time to understand the outcome of interventions designed to rescue a population of imperiled red-cockaded woodpeckers.
What they’ve found is a promising story of success.
Their results, published ...
Study identifies gene clusters in rhizobia linked to robust legume growth
2025-07-28
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new study, scientists used nearly every tool in their toolkit — genomics, transcriptomics, greenhouse experiments and advanced statistical methods — to gain new insight into the complex chemical interactions that take place in underground root nodules, where legumes like soybeans exchange vital nutrients with soil microbes called rhizobia.
Reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, their study identified clusters of rhizobial genes that appear to move rapidly through bacterial populations and drive greater plant biomass ...
Remapping the evolutionary tree of butterflies
2025-07-28
Embargo 28 July 2025 20:00 UK / 15:00 US Eastern Times
Peer-reviewed / Experimental / Insects
REMAPPING THE EVOLUTIONARY TREE OF BUTTERFLIES
Some butterflies can smell others of the same species, allowing them to identify each other in areas where multiple species all look the same, new research finds.
A large international team has genetically mapped glasswing butterflies found across Central and South America, rewriting the evolutionary tree and highlighting six new species.
The ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
No association between COVID-vaccine and decrease in childbirth
AI enabled stethoscope demonstrated to be twice as efficient at detecting valvular heart disease in the clinic
Development by Graz University of Technology to reduce disruptions in the railway network
Large study shows scaling startups risk increasing gender gaps
Scientists find a black hole spewing more energy than the Death Star
A rapid evolutionary process provides Sudanese Copts with resistance to malaria
Humidity-resistant hydrogen sensor can improve safety in large-scale clean energy
Breathing in the past: How museums can use biomolecular archaeology to bring ancient scents to life
Dementia research must include voices of those with lived experience
Natto your average food
Family dinners may reduce substance-use risk for many adolescents
Kumamoto University Professor Kazuya Yamagata receives 2025 Erwin von Bälz Prize (Second Prize)
Sustainable electrosynthesis of ethylamine at an industrial scale
A mint idea becomes a game changer for medical devices
Innovation at a crossroads: Virginia Tech scientist calls for balance between research integrity and commercialization
Tropical peatlands are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions
From cytoplasm to nucleus: A new workflow to improve gene therapy odds
Three Illinois Tech engineering professors named IEEE fellows
Five mutational “fingerprints” could help predict how visible tumours are to the immune system
Rates of autism in girls and boys may be more equal than previously thought
Testing menstrual blood for HPV could be “robust alternative” to cervical screening
Are returning Pumas putting Patagonian Penguins at risk? New study reveals the likelihood
Exposure to burn injuries played key role in shaping human evolution, study suggests
Ancient American pronghorns were built for speed
Two-stage hydrothermal process turns wastewater sludge into cleaner biofuel
Soil pH shapes nitrogen competition between wheat and microbes, new study finds
Scientists develop algae-derived biochar nanoreactor to tackle persistent PFAS pollution
New research delves into strengthening radiology education during a time of workforce shortages and financial constraints
Mediterranean diet associated with lower risk of all stroke types
Personalized palliative care shows signs of improving quality of life for children with advanced cancer
[Press-News.org] Body fat percentage beats BMI in predicting 15-year mortality risk among U.S. adults ages 20 to 49Body mass index vs body fat percentage as a predictor of mortality in adults aged 20-49 years