Differences in obesity as assessed by BMI versus dual X-Ray absorptiometry in a workers compensation population: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Body mass index (BMI) is known to correlate with obesity on a population basis but is known to be frequently inaccurate when applied to individual patients. Dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is considered to be a practical gold standard for determining obesity in a noninvasive manner. However, there is a dearth of studies that have systematically compared BMI to DEXA in a large population. We describe results of DEXA scanning compared to BMI for the determination of obesity in a Workmen’s Compensation population. We found that there was often discordance between obesity, as determined by DEXA and BMI. The correlation was better amongst a population of young females. The degree of discordance was higher in the elderly population as well as in the male population. Our study suggests that DEXA scanning might be of value when a definitive determination of the presence or absence of obesity would affect a patient’s plan of care.