Comparison of the Benn index and other body mass indices in nutritional assessment.

As shown in 58,468 individuals, representing 10 different samples from four different surveys, the "Benn" index (weight/heightp) is highly correlated with other body mass measures that use weight and height, with values of r as high as 0.98 with weight alone. Comparing the Benn index and other body mass indices with four different skinfold measurements (triceps, subscapular, iliac, and abdominal) on 1933 males and 2136 females, correlations involving the Benn (weight/heightp) index were marginally superior to those with weight (by 0.09) and only fractionally superior to those with height/weight (by 0.04). Under the circumstances it is not evident that the population-specific exponent p in the Benn index conveys a material advantage in nutritional assessment.