Obesity cutoff values in Korean men with motor complete spinal cord injury: body mass index and waist circumference.

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Objectives: To determine the obesity cutoff values for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in Korean men with motor complete spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: Tertiary level hospital in Seoul, Korea.

Methods: BMI (kg/m) was calculated and WC (cm) was measured in each participant in the supine position. Percentage of total body fat (%) was determined using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to determine the obesity cutoff values for BMI and WC. The optimal cutoff values were determined using the Youden index. Identified cutoff values were compared with those of 195 age- and BMI-matched men in the general population (GP), obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Results: This study included 52 Korean men with motor complete SCI. A BMI of 20.2 kg/m and WC of 81.3 cm were identified as obesity cutoff values in Korean men with motor complete SCI. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.928, specificity was 100%, and sensitivity was 84.8% according to the ROC curve of BMI for participants. AUC was 0.964, specificity was 100%, and sensitivity was 84.8% in the ROC curve of WC for participants. A BMI of 22.5 kg/m and WC of 85.5 cm were identified as obesity cutoff values in age- and BMI-matched men in the GP.

Conclusions: The obesity cutoff values in Korean men with motor complete SCI that were determined in this study were lower than those of the Korean GP and western people with SCI.