Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Does waist circumference predict fat gain in children?

C Maffeis1, A Grezzani, A Pietrobelli

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Verona, Polyclinic, Verona, Italy. maffeis@borgoroma.univr.it

International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
|July 10, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Waist circumference in 8-year-olds is a strong predictor of future overweight. This simple measurement can help identify children at risk for developing obesity by puberty.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Interdisciplinary management of orofacial lesions in early childhood: paediatric alert system at University of Verona.

European journal of paediatric dentistry·2024
Same author

Role of genetic investigation in the diagnosis of short stature in a cohort of Italian children.

Journal of endocrinological investigation·2023
Same author

Phenotypes of prediabetes and metabolic risk in Caucasian youths with overweight or obesity.

Journal of endocrinological investigation·2022
Same author

Screening for hypertension in young people with obesity: Feasibility in the real life.

Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD·2022
Same author

Salt reduction and iodine intake in Italy.

Journal of endocrinological investigation·2021
Same author

Association between MBOAT7 rs641738 polymorphism and non-alcoholic fatty liver in overweight or obese children.

Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD·2021

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Human growth and development
  • Public health nutrition

Background:

  • Childhood overweight is a growing public health concern.
  • Identifying reliable early predictors of adolescent obesity is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine which anthropometric measurement in 8-year-old children best predicts overweight status four years later.
  • To evaluate the predictive power of various adiposity indices for future overweight development.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 112 Caucasian children (mean age 8.7 years) was studied.
  • Baseline anthropometric measurements including relative BMI, waist circumference, skinfolds, and fat mass were recorded.
  • Follow-up measurements assessed overweight status at age 12.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Baseline relative BMI showed the highest correlation (r=0.77) with follow-up relative BMI.
  • Waist circumference also demonstrated a strong association (r=0.74) and, when adjusted for age, explained 64% of the variation in follow-up relative BMI.
  • Each centimeter increase in waist circumference at age 8 doubled the risk of being overweight at age 12.

Conclusions:

  • Waist circumference at age 8 is a simple, reproducible, and promising indicator for assessing adiposity.
  • This measurement can effectively predict the risk of developing overweight conditions by puberty.
  • Early identification of at-risk children through waist circumference measurement can facilitate preventative strategies.