ArticleBMC public health2026
Prevalence and predictors of percent body fat-defined obesity among federal contingency force commandos in India: implications for military obesity standards.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundObesity is increasingly affecting military personnel, yet its accurate assessment remains challenging because body mass index (BMI) does not distinguish between fat and lean mass; percent body fat (PBF) offers a more physiologically meaningful alternative. However, data on PBF-defined obesity prevalence and its predictors among elite Indian military personnel, such as Indian federal contingency force (IFCF) commandos, remain scarce.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study among 116 IFCF personnel stationed in Gujarat, western India. PBF was measured using direct segmental multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBody 770) and served as the reference standard, with PBF-defined obesity considered as PBF ≥ 25%. BMI-based obesity was classified using both Asian (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) and WHO (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) criteria, with diagnostic accuracy of BMI evaluated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Data on demographics, service-related factors, physical activity (Global Physical Activity Questionnaire), and eating behavior (Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire) were additionally collected, and predictors of obesity identified using multivariable Firth-penalized logistic regression.
resultsPBF-defined obesity prevalence was 16% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10-23%). The Asian BMI criterion overestimated obesity at 28% (95% CI: 20-36%), while the WHO criterion identified no obese individuals. BMI demonstrated good discriminative ability (AUC, 0.85; 95% CI: 0.75-0.95). The Asian BMI criterion showed sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 82%. The empirically derived optimal cut-off (25.4 kg/m²), closely approximated the Asian threshold. Each additional year of age increased obesity odds by 15% (95% CI: 1.03-1.31), those recruited from central armed police forces had 75% lower odds compared to army (95% CI: 0.06-0.83), and every additional 1000 MET-minutes/week of physical activity reduced obesity odds by 31% (95% CI: 0.45-0.98).
conclusionApproximately one in six IFCF commandos were obese by PBF-based criterion. The WHO BMI criterion substantially underestimated obesity, while the Asian BMI criterion closely aligned with the PBF-derived cut-off. These findings support the Asian BMI criterion for obesity screening, while supplementary PBF assessment may be considered where feasible. Obesity prevention efforts should prioritize individuals at greater risk, such as older personnel and those in service roles involving relatively lower physical activity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42482010What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.