title: Anthropometric measurements and obesity diagnosis in schoolchildren.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether anthropometric methods such as arm muscle area, arm fat area, Rohrer index, conicity index, and waist-to-height ratio and the commonly used body mass index method are suitable for obesity screening in a multiethnic paediatric population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional population study was carried out in the city of Ouro Preto, Brazil, in 2006. Schoolchildren (n = 788) aged 6-15 years were selected by the stratified random sampling procedure by the proportion of students according to age and gender in all schools. Nonparametric receiver-operating characteristic analysis was used to define the cut-off for obesity for each method studied, using the tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance technique as the reference method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Arm fat area measurements and Rohrer index were most suitable for adiposity screening in prepubertal and pubertal boys and in pubertal and prepubertal girls, respectively. In postpubertal period, the Rohrer index was the most suitable body fat assessment method in both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Body mass index presented the best balance between sensitivity and specificity only in the prepubertal period and postpubertal boys. Anthropometric measurements, especially arm fat area measurements and Rohrer index, are useful for screening of adiposity in a multiethnic paediatric population.
authors: Departamento de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. anapaula.candido@ufjf.edu.br
authors: Ana P C
authors: AP
authors: Cândido
authors: Sílvia N
authors: SN
authors: Freitas
authors: George L L
authors: GL
authors: Machado-Coelho
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric