More like a few points less, not "far less". This would put them in the obese category, not morbid obese, but I did find some people that would possibly fit into that category. "Overweight" is 25 on the non-Asian BMI, 23 on the Asian BMI; "Obese" is 30 and 27, respectively. The reason is because the BMI is an indication of your potential risk related to excess fatty tissue, and the risk increases when you have more abdominal fat...which is how almost all Asians put on weight. That's why theirs is lower. In some countries, they have even lower numbers for their BMI.