title: Fat distribution in Venezuelan children and adolescents estimated by the conicity index and waist/hip ratio.
abstract: This study compares the conicity index (C) with the waist/hip ratio (WHR) in a cross-sectional sample of Venezuelan children (n = 784 boys and n = 735 girls), 3 to 16 years of age. Distributions of C and WHR were compared in Box-plot diagrams. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between indices by age and sex. Conicity captured more outliers in the distribution than WHR and explained 33% to 62% of the variability in WHR in three age groups. The influence was stronger in females during adolescence (R2 = 0.60, P < 0.05). According to the principle of C. most children presented a bi-conical shape, which was more pronounced in boys than girls and which was indicative of a more central distribution of adiposity. These results are related, in part, to age and sex differences in body composition and to the earlier onset of the adolescent growth spurt in Venezuelan children.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Económics y Sociales, Facultad de Economía, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Maritza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landaeta-Jiménez
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vásquez
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000293:Adolescent; D001823:Body Composition; D001824:Body Constitution / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014687:Venezuela / Q000208:ethnology