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. 2021 Jul 12;24(15):4777–4785. doi: 10.1017/S1368980021002913

Table 1.

Selected example studies comparing MUAC and BMI

Study Country(s) BMI value used to classify thinness (kg/m2) Selected MUAC cut-off in men (cm)
Sultana et al. (11) Bangladesh <18·5 <25·1
James(18) China, India, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Senegal ≥ 18·5 >24·3
17–18·4 23·1–24·3
16–16·9 22·3–23·1
<16·0 <22·3
Ferro-Luzzi(10) China, India, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Senegal <17 <23·0
<13 <20·0
<10 <17·0
Benitez Brito et al. (15) Tenerife <18·5 <22·5 (both genders)
Collins(3) South Sudan <16 <22·5
Tang et al. (4) Argentina, Guinea-Bissau, india, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, USA, Vietnam, Zambia <18·5 ≤24·0 (both genders)
Van Tonder(8) South Africa – hospitalised patients <16·0 <23·0
<18·5 <24·0

MUAC, mid-upper arm circumference.