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Comparison of weight and height relations in boys from 4 countries
1Undertaken on behalf of the International Obesity Task Force working group on childhood obesity.
Insights
This study analyzed children's height and weight data to assess growth differences. The findings indicate that Body Mass Index (BMI) is a suitable adiposity indicator for younger and older children but requires caution for adolescents aged 8-16.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric growth and development
- Anthropometry
- Nutritional assessment
Background:
- Childhood growth patterns vary globally.
- Accurate anthropometric indices are crucial for assessing child health.
- The Body Mass Index (BMI) is commonly used but its suitability across different ages needs evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate international differences in children's growth patterns.
- To evaluate the optimal power (p) in weight/height^p indices for assessing child adiposity.
- To determine the age-appropriateness of BMI (weight/height^2) for childhood adiposity assessment.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of height and weight data from children in the US, UK, Japan, and Singapore.
- Calculation of Benn indices (weight/height^p) with varying 'p' values.
- Correlation analysis between Benn indices and height, and comparison with skinfold thickness data.
Main Results:
- The optimal 'p' value in weight/height^p indices varied with age, generally increasing from age 6 to 10 and decreasing by age 18.
- For most ages, the optimal 'p' value exceeded 2.0, suggesting BMI may overestimate adiposity in taller children.
- BMI showed acceptable correlation with adiposity indicators for children aged 6-7 and 17-18, but less so for ages 8-16.
Conclusions:
- The exponent 'p' in weight-for-height indices is age-dependent.
- BMI is a potentially flawed indicator of adiposity in children aged 8-16 due to its fixed exponent of 2.
- Further research into age-specific anthropometric indices is recommended for accurate childhood adiposity assessment.
Abstract:
Height and weight data from children in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Singapore were analyzed to investigate differences in growth between the groups of children. An investigation into the adjusted weight indexes of the form index = weight/heightp for differing powers of p (Benn index) showed that the power of p required to produce a correlation of zero between the index and height varied with age. For the United States, Japan, and Singapore the p value was just below 3.0 for children aged 6 y, increased to approximately 3.5 for children aged approximately 10 y, and decreased to approximately 2.0 at age approximately 18 y. A consequence of the p value being mostly >2.0 is that BMI (wt/ht2) tends to be greater for tall children than for short children. The US data (from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) also contained information on skinfold thickness. Relating skinfold thickness to indexes of the same form for height and weight suggested that the best relation was achieved with p values of approximately 2.0 except for children aged 12-16 y, for whom the optimal values for p were higher. The highest value, 2.9, was achieved at ages 12-13 y. Overall, the use of BMI as an indicator of adiposity appears acceptable for children aged 6-7 and 17-18 y. However, BMI should be used with caution when assessing children aged 8-16 y.