WAIST/HEIGHT RATIO: A MARKER OF NUTRITIONAL ALTERATION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Authors

  • Claudio Leone Professor Titular do Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo.
  • Viviane Gabriela Nascimento Professor Titular do Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo./Nutricionista, Pós-doutora pelo Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo. Docente da Universidade Paulista.
  • Janaína Paula Costa da Silva Professor Titular do Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo./Nutricionista, Doutora do Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo.
  • Ciro João Bertoli Professor Titular do Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo./Professor Doutor do Departamento de Medicina da Universidade de Taubaté.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.88962

Keywords:

waist circumference, obesity, overweight, adiposity, preschool.

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity in Brazil is progressively increasing among children. In obese individuals, the concentration of fat in the abdominal region is a predictive marker for future health problems. Among the indicators of central adiposity, the waist-to-height ratio (WHR) has been shown to be more sensitive for predicting future health hazards than waist circumference alone. Objective: To analyze the relationship between the WHR and the classification of nutritional status of preschool children. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 711 preschool children in daycare in Taubate, SP. The sampling was probabilistic, having the nursery as the sampling unit. The weight, height and waist circumference of each child were measured. For classifying children with excess weight (risk of overweight, overweight or obesity), or with overweight or obesity the cut-off points of the Z-scores of Body Mass Index (zBMI), proposed by the Ministry of Health (2009), were used, from the point of view of the World Health Organization. The data were analyzed using the ROC (Receiver Operator Curve). Results: The area under the curve (AUC) of WHR for excess weight was 0.851 (p< 0.0001), and for overweight or obesity together was 0.886 (p< 0.0001). Values of 0.52 and 0.54 of the WHR were the cut-off points for optimization of Sensitivity/Specificity respectively for excess weight or overweight or obesity. Conclusion: The WHR is a useful tool in basic health care for children at the beginning of preschool age, for the assessment of nutritional status and central adiposity.

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References

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Published

2014-12-17

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 3 (2014)

Section

Original Research

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