University of Leicester study finds Asian BMI should drop

A University of Leicester medical study has suggested that levels of obesity among some Asians needs to be reduced.

Most GPs determine a person's ideal weight by calculating their body mass index (BMI).

Prof Kamlesh Khunti, at the university, said BMI levels for patients who had links to the Indian sub-continent should be lowered because they had an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

He said the team, which studied 6,000 people, found that BMI needed to change depending on people's ethnic origin to determine their healthy weight.

Some people have argued that the amount of fat round a person's waist is a better guide to obesity.