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Updated: Jun 5, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
[Relationship between body mass index and fat mass percentage in children aged 3-17 years in China]
1National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention/Key Laboratory of Public Nutrition and Health, National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China/Key Laboratory of Human Milk Science, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing100050, China.
Insights
Body mass index (BMI) and fat mass percentage (FMP) show a strong relationship in Chinese children. While BMI is a useful indicator, its classification of nutritional status shows only moderate agreement with fat mass percentage.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Nutritional Science
- Public Health Research
Context:
- Childhood obesity is a growing global concern, necessitating accurate assessment tools.
- Understanding the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Fat Mass Percentage (FMP) is crucial for diagnosing nutritional status in pediatric populations.
- This study examines data from a large-scale Chinese national survey, providing insights into a significant demographic.
Purpose:
- To investigate the correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Fat Mass Percentage (FMP) in Chinese children and adolescents aged 3-17 years.
- To evaluate the consistency of classifying nutritional status using BMI-for-age Z-scores (or BMI) versus FMP.
- To analyze age and sex-specific trends in BMI and FMP.
Summary:
- A strong positive correlation (r=0.705) was observed between BMI and FMP in Chinese children (3-17 years).
- The agreement between BMI-for-age Z-scores (or BMI) and FMP for classifying nutritional status was found to be moderate (Kappa=0.574).
- Fat Mass Percentage varied significantly by age and sex, with distinct patterns observed in boys and girls across different nutritional categories.
Impact:
- Highlights the strong association between BMI and FMP, reinforcing BMI's utility as a screening tool.
- Indicates that while BMI is correlated with FMP, it has limitations in accurately classifying individual nutritional status due to moderate agreement.
- Provides valuable data for public health initiatives and clinical practice in China regarding pediatric weight management and nutritional assessment.
Abstract:
Objective: To analyze the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and fat mass percentage (FMP) in children aged 3-17 years in China. Methods: The BMI and FMP data of children aged 3-17 years from the National Nutrition and Health Systematic Survey in 0-18 years old children in China was analyzed. BMI-Z score/BMI and FMP were used to classify the subjects, respectively. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the correlation between BMI and FMP. The consistency between BMI-Z score/BMI and FMP in classifying the subjects was measured using Kappa coefficient. Results: The FMP of malnutrition, normal and overweight/obesity in boys was higher in age group 10-13-year than in other age groups (all P<0.001). The FMP of all nutritional status in girls increased with age (all P<0.05). The BMI of boys in all the FMP levels increased with age (all P<0.05). When the FMP of girls was 25%- or ≥30%, BMI increased with age (all P<0.001). The relationship between BMI and FMP was strong (r=0.705, P<0.001), with r of 0.618 in boys and 0.884 in girls. The consistency between BMI-Z score/BMI and FMP in classifying the subjects was found to be moderate (Kappa=0.574, P<0.001). Conclusions: There was a strong relationship between BMI and FMP. The consistency between BMI-Z score/BMI and FMP in classifying the subjects was moderate.
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