Mixed
For South Asian, Chinese, and Black populations, the BMI threshold associated with equivalent diabetes risk is significantly lower (24-26 kg/m²) than the standard 30 kg/m² cutoff used for White populations.
If you are South Asian, Chinese, or Black, do not wait until you reach a BMI of 30 to worry about diabetes. Your risk increases at lower weights (24-26 kg/m²). You should undergo diabetes screening and adopt preventive lifestyle measures at these lower BMI thresholds, as your body may store fat in ways that increase metabolic risk more efficiently than in White populations.
For the equivalent incidence rate of diabetes at a BMI of 30 kg/m2 in white subjects, the BMI cutoff value was 24 kg/m2 in South Asian, 25 kg/m2 in Chinese, and 26 kg/m2 in black subjects.
Why this rating
Large multiethnic cohort study (n=59,824) with long follow-up (up to 12.8 years) and administrative data linkage, though BMI was self-reported.
Source
Deriving Ethnic-Specific BMI Cutoff Points for Assessing Diabetes Risk
Maria Chiu et al. · Diabetes Care · 2011
DOI 10.2337/dc10-2300
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