Determination of central body fat by measuring natural waist and umbilical abdominal circumference in Guatemalan schoolchildren.
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.
Groeneveld
Iris F
IF
Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. iris.groeneveld@vumc.nl
Solomons
Noel W
NW
Doak
Colleen M
CM
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*