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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Defining Obesity Using a Biological End Point in Sri Lankan Children
Vithanage Pujitha Wickramasinghe1, Carukshi Arambepola2, Priyantha Bandara3
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Kynsey Road, Colombo, Sri Lanka. pujithaw@yahoo.com.
Objective:
To identify the percentage of body fat mass (FM) that would define obesity among Sri Lankan children.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5-15 y old children in the district of Colombo. FM was assessed using Bio Impedance Assay (BIA). After a 12 h overnight fast, blood was drawn for fasting blood glucose (FBS) and lipid profile. Oral-glucose-tolerance test (OGTT) was done along with 2 h random blood sugar (RBS). Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was diagnosed by a high waist circumference (WC) with ≥2 metabolic derangements [FBS/RBS, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP)]. Receiver-Operator Characteristics (ROCs) were drawn to determine the best %FM that predicted MetS.
Results:
Nine hundred twenty children were studied (547 boys). Fifteen (1.6 %) had MetS. Ninety five (10.3 %) had two and 16(1.7 %) had ≥3 metabolic derangements. MetS in boys was associated with %FM of 28.6 (sensitivity 1.000; specificity 0.870) and in girls 33.7 (sensitivity 0.875; specificity 0.808).
Conclusions:
FM associated with adverse health outcomes in this population is comparable to other available data. A %FM of 28.6 % for boys and 33.7 % for girls would be acceptable cutoff limits.
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