Menso J. Nubé|W. K. Asenso?Okyere|G.J.M. van den Boom
Body mass index as indicator of standard of living in developing countries
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam|University of Ghana|Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
assess suitability body mass index bmi indicator standard living developing countriesthe analysis based data collected first two rounds ghana living standards survey held 198788 glssi 198889 glssii dataset provides information wide range socioeconomic variables individual household community level including height weight data approximately 9000 adults 2065 age bracketbivariate analysis used assess individual level level population groups relationships adult body mass index selected household characteristics income expenditure years schooling head household access services quality housing nutritional status children multiple regression indicative estimates derived effects variables adult bmi comparison relationships investigated weight heightat individual level bmi shows significantly positive relation various socioeconomic indicators living standard though correlation coefficients indicate poor fit however level population groups relationship bmi characteristics socioeconomic development strong correlation coefficient 086 mean bmi mean per capita expenditures 12 population groups ghana presumed different levels standard living relationships weight various socioeconomic characteristics comparable bmi height poorly correlated selected household variables result suggest lowincome countries information adult bmi mean distribution used assessing differences standards living population groups monitoring changes time