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  • Systematic Review
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Pediatrics

Correlations and consistency of body composition measurement indicators and BMI: a systematic review

International Journal of Obesity volume 49, pages 4–12 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

It is critical to accurately determine the level of obesity and health status since overweight/obesity has become a main global public health problem. This systematic review attempted to evaluate the consistency and correlation between body composition measurement indicators and body mass index (BMI) in childhood and adolescence.

Methods

Seven electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, SinoMed) were searched to collect the literature published since 1999 with the focus on the relationship between body composition measurement indicators and BMI to measure obesity in childhood and adolescence.

Results

Among the 28 articles included, 13 articles reported a moderate to very strong correlation between %BF and BMI in obesity measurement (range: 0.49–0.907), while two articles reported a strong to very strong correlation between FM and BMI (range: 0.60–0.86). Six articles reported good to excellent obesity measurement consistency between %BF and BMI (range: 0.441–0.876), one article reported WC (0.58) and WHtR (0.46) in the moderate consistency with BMI, and one article reported a relatively poor to fair consistency between FM and BMI (range: 0.167–0.409). WC, WHtR, and BMI showed the moderate consistency in pre-adolescent children. In pre-adolescence and adolescence, the measurement consistency between %BF and BMI was higher than that between FM and BMI. Gender difference existed in the consistency between %BF and BMI during adolescence.

Conclusion

A range of body composition indicators such as %BF, WC, WHtR, and FM could provide valuable body composition measurements, complement BMI for obesity assessment in children and adolescents, and facilitate efficient and comprehensive surveillance of childhood obesity.

Registration

PROSPERO CRD42024506932.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the Shanghai Municipal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (SCDC) and the participating district CDCs, local communities and schools, as well as all participants in the Sixth Round of Shanghai Public Health Three Year Action Program.

Funding

This study was supported by The Sixth Round of Shanghai Public Health Three Year Action Program 2023–2025 (Grant no. GWVI-7), Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant no. G2023141005L), Ministry of Education (Grant no. 1125000172), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant no. 3225002002A1), and Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu, China

    Ruohan Yang, Jinxia Yu, Hui Xue, Xiaoyan Ni & Shuxin Yu

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Health, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, 200336, China

    Chunyan Luo, Wenjuan Qi, Dongling Yang & Fengyun Zhang

  3. Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu, China

    Wei Du

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Contributions

RY and JY were responsible for designing the review plan, retrieving and screening articles, analyzing and interpreting the results, and drafting the report. CL, WQ, DY, HX, XN, and SY assisted in the analysis, result interpretation, and critical appraisal of the report. WD and FZ conceptualized the study, provided guidance throughout the study, and contributed to the critical review of the final draft.

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Correspondence to Wei Du or Fengyun Zhang.

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Yang, R., Yu, J., Luo, C. et al. Correlations and consistency of body composition measurement indicators and BMI: a systematic review. Int J Obes 49, 4–12 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-024-01638-9

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