Abstract

SOAR, Claudia; VASCONCELOS, Francisco de Assis Guedes de  and  ASSIS, Maria Alice Altenburg de. Waist-hip ratio and waist circumference associated with body mass index in a study with schoolchildren. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2004, vol.20, n.6, pp. 1609-1616. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2004000600019.

The objectives of this study were to determine the percentile levels of the anthropometric indices body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and waist circumference (WC) and to verify possible correlations among theses indices in schoolchildren registered at the State Institute of Education, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. A total of 419 children ages 7 to 9 years were investigated: 215 (51.3%) boys and 204 (48.7%) girls. BMI, WHR, and WC were higher for boys than for girls. However, the differences were only statistically significant for WHR and WC. Prevalence rates were 17.9% for overweight and 6.7% for obesity. The anthropometric indices with the highest correlation were BMI and WC (r = 0.87 and p < 0.01). For overweight, BMI and WC also presented the strongest correlation (r = 0.74). For obesity, WHR and WC showed the best correlation (r = 0.54).

Keywords : Waist-Hip Ratio; Body Mass Index; Obesity.