Skip to main content

Body Fat Percentage Better Predictor of 15-Year Mortality Than BMI

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on July 1, 2025.

via HealthDay

TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 -- For young adults, body fat percentage is a better predictor of 15-year mortality risk than body mass index (BMI), according to a study published online June 24 in the Annals of Family Medicine.

Arch G. Mainous III, Ph.D., from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and colleagues examined BMI versus body fat percentage for 15-year mortality risk among adults aged 20 to 49 years in a nationally representative cohort of U.S. adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The researchers found that body fat percentage and waist circumference were significantly associated with 15-year, all-cause mortality (unadjusted hazard ratios, 2.01 and 1.94, respectively; adjusted hazard ratios, 1.78 and 1.59, respectively) and heart disease mortality (unadjusted hazard ratios, 4.20 and 4.75, respectively; adjusted hazard ratios, 3.62 and 4.01, respectively). No statistically significant association was seen for BMI with all-cause mortality. There was a significant association for BMI with heart disease mortality in the unadjusted model, but not in the adjusted model.

"The medical community has been aware that BMI has some limitations as a measure of body composition and disease risk. It is an indirect measure of body fat percentage," coauthor Frank A. Orlando, M.D., from the University of Florida, said in a statement. "Direct measures have historically been too expensive and difficult to use in the office. Our study shows that a direct measure of body fat that can be done easily, practically and inexpensively in a doctor's office solves the problems of BMI."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Bariatric Surgery Complications Increase With Initial Body Mass Index

TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 -- The higher a person’s body mass index (BMI), the higher their risk for complications after bariatric surgery, such as higher rates of emergency...

Weighted Vests Do Not Prevent Weight Loss-Linked Bone Loss at Hip

TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 -- For older adults with obesity, neither weighted vest use nor resistance training (RT) mitigates weight loss (WL)-associated bone loss at the hip...

Degree of Weight Loss Affects Tirzepatide-Linked Cardiometabolic Risk Improvement

TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 -- For adults with obesity or overweight, tirzepatide-linked improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors are associated with the degree of weight reduction...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.