Rohith Velusamy¹,
Sanjay Andrew Rajaratnam²,
Rehana G Winston³

¹,³Final year MBBS,
²Professor and Head,
Department of Physiology,
Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute,
Kelambakkam, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract

• Background: Since body mass index (BMI) fails to differentiate between muscle mass and fat, there is increasing evidence in emphasizing the search for an alternative to BMI. The existing alternatives namely waist-circumference, waist-hip-ratio, body roundedness index did not significantly correlate with pulmonary function. A body shape index (ABSI) and surface based body shape index (SBSI) are two new indices suggested as alternatives to BMI, which need to be explored.
• Aim: The aim of the study was to correlate ABSI and SBSI with spirometric parameters of pulmonary function.
• Materials and Methods: The study was done in 100 volunteers. Spirometric measurements namely, FEV1/FVC and MVV were measured using a computerized spirometer. Anthropometric measurements such as height, weight, waist circumference, and vertical trunk circumference were calculated for estimating the ABSI and SBSI. The ABSI and SBSI were correlated with FEV1/FVC and MVV.
• Results: ABSI and SBSI were found to be significantly and negatively correlated with MVV. ABSI and SBSI did not significantly correlate with FEV1/FVC.
• Conclusion: This study is unique as it is a pioneering study in this part of the world, which correlates SBSI with spirometric parameters. Increase in ABSI and SBSI were found to decrease MVV. Both ABSI and SBSI outperformed BMI in correlation with MVV. This study has also paved way for future long term researches on body shape and pulmonary function, which has not been much reported, so that a combination of BMI along with indices measuring body shape (ABSI & SBSI) can be used in clinical practice as indicators of obesity.

Keywords: body mass index, spirometry, surface based body shape index