title: Height-obesity relationship in school children in Sub-Saharan Africa: results of a cross-sectional study in Cameroon.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In developed nations, taller children exhibit a greater propensity to overweight/obesity. This study investigates whether this height-adiposity relationship holds true for Cameroon children using two parameters of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC).
  
  
  METHODS
  In 557 children (287 boys and 270 girls, mean age 9.0 ± 1.8 years) from the North West Region of Cameroon height, weight and WC were measured and BMI calculated. Variables were converted to standard deviation scores (SDS). Participants were divided into quartiles of height SDS, then mean of age and sex-standardized body fat parameters compared across quartiles. The frequency of excess adiposity was calculated within each quartile. Correlation and regression analysis were used to assess height-adiposity relationships.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple comparisons indicated a significant increase in mean BMI (-0.08 to 0.65) and WC (-0.11 to 0.87) SDSs with increasing quartiles of height SDS. Frequency of overweight/obesity and abdominal overweight/obesity was highest among children with highest height SDS (30.2 - 33.1%) and lowest in their shortest peers (0.7 - 5.0%). There was a linear relationship between height SDS and BMI SDS (R(2) = 0.087, p < 0.001); height SDS and WC SDS (R(2) = 0.356, p < 0.001) among both boys and girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that in Cameroon just as in developed economies a higher height SDS is associated with a higher frequency of overweight/obesity. This is independent of the parameter used to evaluate overweight/obesity (BMI SDS or WC SDS).
authors.affiliation: CIHLMU Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Munich, Germany. knavti@gmail.com.|Department of Biochemistry, Catholic University of Cameroon (CATUC), P.O. Box 782, Bamenda, Cameroon. knavti@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lifoter K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Navti
authors.affiliation: CIHLMU Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Munich, Germany. Uta.Ferrari@med.uni-muenchen.de.|Diabetes Research Group, Department of Medicine IV, Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Ziemssenstr. 1, 80336, Munich, Germany. Uta.Ferrari@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Catholic University of Cameroon (CATUC), P.O. Box 782, Bamenda, Cameroon. emmtange@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tange
authors.affiliation: CIHLMU Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Munich, Germany. Klaus.Parhofer@med.uni-muenchen.de.|Department of Medicine II - Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany. Klaus.Parhofer@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Klaus G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Parhofer
authors.affiliation: CIHLMU Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Munich, Germany. Susanne.Bechtold@med.uni-muenchen.de.|Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, University Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet, Lindwurmstr. 4, 80337, Munich, Germany. Susanne.Bechtold@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Susanne Bechtold-Dalla
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Pozza
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*