title: Determination of central body fat by measuring natural waist and umbilical abdominal circumference in Guatemalan schoolchildren.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity prevalence is rising in many developing countries, also among children. Waist circumference (WC) is a good measure of central obesity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to compare umbilical waist circumference (UWC) and natural waist circumference (NWC) in children between socio-economic status (SES) and between sex; to describe correlations between body mass index (BMI), UWC and NWC; and to compare waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) between stunted and non-stunted children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured height, weight and waist circumference at the natural and at the umbilical level in 583 boys and girls aged 8 to 10 years of two different social strata in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean UWC and mean NWC (cm) were significantly larger in high SES than in low SES children (66.6 vs. 62.7, p<0.001, and 62.6 vs. 59.8, p<0.001, respectively). Boys had a larger mean NWC than girls (62.8 vs. 60.3, p<0.001). The mean difference between UWC and NWC (UWC-NWC) was larger in high SES and in boys. Overall, Pearson correlation of BMI vs. NWC is high (r=0.902, p<0.001), of BMI vs. UWC is higher (r=0.919, p<0.001) and of NWC vs. UWC is highest (r=0.965, p<0.001). The proportion of WHtR>/=0.500 was significantly higher in non-stunted than in stunted boys (p=0.03) and in high SES as compared with low SES children (p<0.001). Results for mean WHtR were not significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on these results, in Quetzaltenango high SES, non-stunted schoolchildren are most likely to have a centralized body fat pattern.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. iris.groeneveld@vumc.nl
authors.forename: Iris F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Groeneveld
authors.forename: Noel W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Solomons
authors.forename: Colleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Doak
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology; D006166:Guatemala; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012923:Social Class; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*