Eng Pei Chia, Teo Ada Ee Der, Leow Melvin Khee Shing, Tai E Shyong, Khoo Chin Meng
Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore.
Division of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Diabetes Obes Metab. 2025 Oct;27(10):5554-5565. doi: 10.1111/dom.16601. Epub 2025 Jul 14.
Visceral adiposity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Traditional anthropometric measures like body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have limited accuracy, while a newer measure, body roundness index (BRI), is touted as being a better predictor of visceral adiposity but requires further validation. The aim of this study is to compare BRI with other traditional metrics of adiposity: WC, BMI and percentage (%) body fat, visceral adiposity and insulin sensitivity among the multiethnic cohorts in Asia.
This was a cross-sectional study of 264 young, healthy and normoglycemic adult males (101 Chinese, 85 Malay, 82 South Asian) with ages of 28.4 ± 6.0, 27.6 ± 5.1 and 26.0 ± 4.8 years. Anthropometric measures (BMI, WC, WHR, BRI), bioimpedance analysis (for percentage body fat), MRI-measured visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT, SAT), and hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp for insulin sensitivity index (ISI) were assessed.
BRI correlated significantly with VAT (r = 0.72), SAT (r = 0.85), and ISI (r = -0.51), but performed similarly to BMI, WC and percentage body fat. BRI showed consistent results across ethnic groups, with the highest VAT correlation in Malays (r = 0.76). Percentage body fat measured by bioimpedance was as effective as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in predicting adiposity, while WHR had the weakest correlation with VAT.
BRI, while strongly correlated with visceral adiposity and ISI, does not outperform simpler measures like WC or percentage body fat. Bioimpedance, being non-invasive, demonstrates utility in assessing visceral adiposity in clinical settings. Ethnic-specific thresholds for BRI and WC may improve precision in obesity-related health assessments.
内脏脂肪过多是心血管疾病的独立危险因素。传统的人体测量指标，如体重指数（BMI）、腰围（WC）和腰臀比（WHR），准确性有限，而一种新的指标——身体圆润度指数（BRI），虽被吹捧为内脏脂肪过多的更好预测指标，但仍需进一步验证。本研究的目的是在亚洲多民族队列中，比较BRI与其他传统肥胖指标：WC、BMI和体脂百分比（%）、内脏脂肪过多情况及胰岛素敏感性。
这是一项横断面研究，研究对象为264名年轻、健康且血糖正常的成年男性（101名中国人、85名马来人、82名南亚人），年龄分别为28.4±6.0岁、27.6±5.1岁和26.0±4.8岁。评估了人体测量指标（BMI、WC、WHR、BRI）、生物电阻抗分析（用于测量体脂百分比）、磁共振成像测量的内脏和皮下脂肪组织（VAT、SAT），以及用于胰岛素敏感性指数（ISI）的高胰岛素-正常血糖钳夹试验。
BRI与VAT（r = 0.72）、SAT（r = 0.85）和ISI（r = -0.51）显著相关，但与BMI、WC和体脂百分比表现相似。BRI在各民族群体中结果一致，其中马来人与VAT的相关性最高（r = 0.76）。通过生物电阻抗测量的体脂百分比在预测肥胖方面与磁共振成像（MRI）同样有效，而WHR与VAT的相关性最弱。
BRI虽然与内脏脂肪过多和ISI密切相关，但并不优于WC或体脂百分比等更简单的指标。生物电阻抗具有非侵入性，在临床环境中评估内脏脂肪过多方面显示出实用性。BRI和WC的种族特异性阈值可能会提高肥胖相关健康评估的准确性。
