title: Waist-to-height ratio centiles by age and sex for Japanese children based on the 1978-1981 cross-sectional national survey data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To construct waist-to-height ratio (WC/Ht) reference values and centile curves for Japanese children and to compare these references with those from other countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 1978-1981 national survey data were used for reference and the 1992-1994 national survey data were used for validation. The former included 19 233 children, and the latter included 10 446 children, aged 6 to 18 years. Waist circumferences (WC) were measured at the level of maximum waist narrowing in girls, and at the level of the top of the iliac crest in boys. Age- and sex-specific reference curves were fitted with the LMS method. Cut-off points were arbitrarily set at 85th, 90th, 95th and 97th centiles, and compared with WC/Ht 0.50.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of children in whom WC/Ht exceeded 0.50 was 18.7% of boys and 1.9% of girls, whereas the proportion of children exceeding 90th centile was 42.4% for boys and 17.3% for girls. The reference values decreased with age in girls but varied by age without a clear trend in boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The first reference values for WC/Ht are provided for Japanese youth based on the 1978-1981 national survey data. These curves are age- and sex-dependent, precluding the use of universal cut-off for WC/Ht of 0.50.
authors.affiliation: Health Center, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inokuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.|The Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, Tokyo Healthcare Foundation, Tokyo, Japan.|National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, California University School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D057238:Growth Charts; D006306:Health Surveys; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference