title: The relationship between oral hygiene status and obesity among preschool children in Hong Kong.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the association between oral hygiene status and obesity among preschool children in Hong Kong.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and twenty-four 5-year-old children in Hong Kong were recruited. Their oral hygiene status was recorded using visible plaque index (VPI). Body height, body weight, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference and triceps skinfold thickness (TRSKF) were measured to assess general adiposity (weight/height ratio, W/H; body mass index, BMI), central adiposity (WC; waist/hip ratio, WHR) and peripheral adiposity (TRSKF). The relationships between VPI and W/H, BMI, WC, WHR and TRSKF were examined in bivariate and regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-six per cent of the children were considered to have high VPI (VPI ≥ 65.0%). Logistic regression analyses identified that W/H z-score (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.01-1.61) and WC z-score (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.00-1.58) were associated with high VPI. No association was found after adjusted for socio-demographic status (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral hygiene status was not associated with obesity among 5-year-old children in Hong Kong after controlling for socio-demographic factors.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000145:classification*; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D012923:Social Class; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
keywords: body mass index; obesity; oral hygiene; triceps skinfold thickness; waist circumference; waist/hip ratio; weight/height ratio