Skills Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria.
S Afr Fam Pract (2004). 2024 Aug 14;66(1):e1-e6. doi: 10.4102/safp.v66i1.5932.
Waist-related measures are commonly used to classify central adiposity and related comorbidities. This classification may be essential among children, as it may identify the risk of future non-communicable diseases.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, among 459 primary school learners aged 9-14 years. Height, weight and waist circumference (WC) were measured using standardised techniques recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The anthropometric measurements, including body mass index (BMI), WC, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were computed and evaluated.
Most participants were girls (57.70%) with an average age of 11.20 ± 1.60 years. The average weight was 38.81 kg ± 10.49 kg with an average height of 144.16 (standard deviation [s.d.] = 10.37) cm. The sample had a BMI of 18.41 kg/m2 (s.d. = 3.19). The results showed, on average, WC of 62.10 cm ± 8.12 cm, WHR of 0.82 ± 0.15 and WHtR of 0.44 ± 0.05. Girls reported significantly higher BMI, WC and WHtR. Based on WHtR, the results showed the acceptable ability to classify children according to abdominal obesity, thus identifying their risk for comorbidities.
Overall body fat indicated by BMI and central obesity shown by waist-related anthropometric measures can play a significant role in classifying children in terms of their risk of comorbidities.Contribution: To prevent the risks of metabolic diseases in childhood, it is necessary to detect abdominal obesity early using WC-based anthropometric measurements, especially WHtR, to identify those at risk.
腰围相关指标常用于对中心性肥胖及其相关合并症进行分类。这种分类在儿童中可能很重要，因为它可以识别未来非传染性疾病的风险。
本横断面研究在南非东开普省进行，研究对象为 459 名 9-14 岁的小学生。使用世界卫生组织（WHO）推荐的标准技术测量身高、体重和腰围（WC）。计算和评估了包括体重指数（BMI）、WC、腰臀比（WHR）和腰高比（WHtR）在内的人体测量指标。
大多数参与者为女孩（57.70%），平均年龄为 11.20 ± 1.60 岁。平均体重为 38.81 kg ± 10.49 kg，平均身高为 144.16（标准差[SD] = 10.37）cm。样本的 BMI 为 18.41 kg/m2（SD = 3.19）。结果显示，平均 WC 为 62.10 cm ± 8.12 cm，WHR 为 0.82 ± 0.15，WHtR 为 0.44 ± 0.05。女孩报告的 BMI、WC 和 WHtR 显著更高。根据 WHtR，结果表明其具有可接受的能力根据腹部肥胖对儿童进行分类，从而识别其合并症的风险。
BMI 所示的总体体脂和腰围相关人体测量指标所示的中心性肥胖可以在儿童的合并症风险方面发挥重要作用。
为了预防儿童代谢疾病的风险，有必要使用基于 WC 的人体测量指标（特别是 WHtR）及早检测腹部肥胖，以识别处于风险中的人群。
