Sonographic evaluation of visceral and subcutaneous fat in obese children.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate sonographic measurements of visceral and subcutaneous fat in children, and to investigate the usefulness of preperitoneal fat (PF) and the abdominal wall fat index (AFI) as parameters to determine visceral fat and presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children.


METHODS
A case-control study of a sample including 44 children (22 cases and 22 controls) matched by sex and age. The Student t test and the Fisher exact test were utilized in the descriptive and bivariate analysis.


RESULTS
The sonographic parameters evaluated - subcutaneous cell tissue, PF and intraperitoneal fat, and NAFLD - presented high statistical association with body mass index. NAFLD was observed in eight obese patients (36.36%), and PF and AFI were the variables with highest statistical significance, with p < 0.0001.


CONCLUSIONS
Ultrasonography is useful tool in the differentiation and quantification of visceral and subcutaneous fat in children. The measures of PF and AFI are useful in the assessment of visceral fat and NAFLD in obese children.
PhD, Titular Member of Colégio Brasileiro de Radiologia e Diagnóstico por Imagem (CBR), Pediatric Radiologist at Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (HU-UFSC) and Hospital Infantil Joana de Gusmão (HIJG), Professor, Division of Radiology, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Telma
T
Sakuno
Graduate Student of Medicine, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Letícia Mary
LM
Tomita
Graduate Student of Medicine, Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM), Maringá, PR, Brazil.
Carolina Mywa
CM
Tomita
PhD, Professor, Division of Pediatrics and Program of Post-graduation in Collective Health at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Isabela de Carlos Back
Ide C
Giuliano
Pediatrician and Pediatric Oncologist, Blantyre Adventist Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi.
Amanda
A
Ibagy
Master, Professor, Division of Pediatrics, Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Preceptor for Medical Residency of Pediatrics and Physician at Service of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hospital Infantil Joana de Gusmão (HIJG), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Nilza Maria Medeiros
NM
Perin
PhD, Professor, Centro de Ciências da Saúde e do Esporte (Cefid), Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina (Udesc), Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Lisiane Schilling
LS
Poeta
Child; Fatty liver; Intra-abdominal fat; Obesity; Ultrasonography