BMI is a misleading proxy for adiposity in longitudinal studies with adolescent males: the Australian LOOK study

ConclusionsWhile change in BMI is likely to be a rough proxy for change in PFat measured by DXA in longitudinal studies of adolescent females, this is not the case for adolescent males, where increased BMI is likely to correspond with decreased PFat. Consequently, inferences from longitudinal studies of adolescents which have assumed that an increase in BMI (or BMI Z-scores or percentiles) represents an increase in adiposity require reconsideration.
Source: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport - Category: Sports Medicine Source Type: research