Waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and conicity index to evaluate android fat excess in Brazilian children.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the ability of anthropometric measurements to identify excess android fat and to propose cut-off points for excess central adiposity in children, according to age and sex.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study with children from a municipality of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to evaluate waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and conicity index (C-index) in estimating excess android fat by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

SETTING

Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

SUBJECTS

Children aged 4-9 years (n 788).

RESULTS

Overweight prevalence was 29·1 % and android fat percentage was higher among girls. All central fat measurements were able to discriminate excess android fat in the age groups evaluated, especially WC and WHtR, with cut-off points showing good sensitivity and specificity overall.

CONCLUSIONS

Because these methods are easy to obtain and inexpensive, it is possible to use WC, WHtR and C-index in population surveys to evaluate central obesity. The proposed cut-off points showed satisfactory values of sensitivity and specificity and can be used in epidemiological studies.