Body mass index (BMI) is a sensitive indicator of disease and mortality risk. However, applying a one-size-fit-all standard for a healthy BMI can miss individuals who are naturally slender but have accrued large amounts of visceral body fat. To address this issue, our group is developing context-sensitive measures of BMI for diverse populations worldwide.

Relevant Publications

  1. Hruschka DJ, Stulp G, Hackman JV* (2019).  Identifying the limits to socioeconomic influences on human growth.  Economics and Human Biology. 34, 239-251.
  2. Hruschka DJ, Hadley C (2016). How much do universal anthropometric standards bias the global monitoring of obesity and undernutrition? Obesity Reviews. 17 (11), 1030-1039.
  3. Hruschka DJ, Hadley C, Brewis A, Stojanowski C (2015). Genetic population structure accounts for ecogeographic rules in tropic and subtropic dwelling humans. PLOS ONE. 10(3): e0122301.
  4. Trainer S†, Brewis A, Hruschka DJ, Williams D (2015). Translating Obesity: Navigating the Front Lines of the “War on Fat.” American Journal of Human Biology. 27: 61-68.
  5. Hruschka DJ, Hadley C, Brewis A. (2014) Disentangling basal and accumulated body mass for cross-population comparisons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 153:4, 542-550.
  6. Hruschka DJ, Brewis AA (2013). Absolute wealth and world region strongly predict overweight among women (ages 18-49) in 360 populations across 36 developing countries. Economics and Human Biology. 11:3, 337-344.
  7. Hruschka DJ, Rush E, Brewis AA (2013).  Accounting for population differences in the relationship between height, weight and fat mass: an application of Burton’s model.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 151:1, 68-76.