The optimal BMI cutoff point appears to be 27 kg/m 2 for detecting obesity in middle-aged and older adults, according to a study presented at the 31st European Congress on Obesity. Marwan El Ghoch, MD, and colleagues used data from adults (aged 40-80 years; 1,087 with normal weight; 1,826 with overweight; 1,887 with obesity) who were referred for clinical nutritional counseling to assess the validity of the 30 kg/m 2 cutoff as an indicator of obesity across a patient’s lifespan. The researchers found that the most appropriate BMI cutoff point for identifying obesity based on body fat was 27.08 kg/m 2 in women and 27.36 kg/m 2 in men. This cutoff had an area under the curve of 0.89 and 0.88 for women and men, respectively, indicating the excellent discriminating ability of BMI for detecting obesity. These cutoff points showed a high sensitivity (80.69%) and specificity (83.63%), indicating a low chance of false negatives and false positives.
