Measures of overweight status in school-age children

Identifying and intervening with overweight children may decrease their likelihood of developing heart disease later in life. This secondary analysis of 58 children in the 3rd grade examined the prevalence of overweight children, methods for measuring overweight status, and the relationship among these measures and other risk factors for heart disease. Approximately one third of the 58 children were categorized as overweight. Several measures, such as weight, body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), and skin-fold, are available to school nurses for measuring overweight status. The highest correlations were between BMI and weight and between BMI and body fat. Anthropometric measurements cannot predict cholesterol level, 24-hour diet recall, or family history. Blood pressure can be predicted by weight, body fat percentage, and BMI. BMI and body fat percentage highly correlate; however, body fat percentage is more liberal in identifying children at risk for overweight status. Therefore, body fat percentage is recommended for identification of overweight status in school-age children.