title: [Waist-hip ratio and waist circumference associated with body mass index in a study with schoolchildren].
abstract: The objectives of this study were to determine the percentile levels of the anthropometric indices body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and waist circumference (WC) and to verify possible correlations among theses indices in schoolchildren registered at the State Institute of Education, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. A total of 419 children ages 7 to 9 years were investigated: 215 (51.3%) boys and 204 (48.7%) girls. BMI, WHR, and WC were higher for boys than for girls. However, the differences were only statistically significant for WHR and WC. Prevalence rates were 17.9% for overweight and 6.7% for obesity. The anthropometric indices with the highest correlation were BMI and WC (r = 0.87 and p < 0.01). For overweight, BMI and WC also presented the strongest correlation (r = 0.74). For obesity, WHR and WC showed the best correlation (r = 0.54).
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soar
authors.forename: Francisco de Assis Guedes de
authors.initials: Fde A
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.forename: Maria Alice Altenburg de
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Assis
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio