Elsevier

Clinical Nutrition

Volume 32, Issue 1, February 2013, Pages 93-97
Clinical Nutrition

Original article
Waist circumference in children and adolescents correlate with metabolic syndrome and fat deposits in young adults

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2012.05.020Get rights and content

Summary

Background & aims

To determine the relevance of waist circumference (WC) measurement and monitoring in children and adolescents as an early indicator of overweight, metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular problems in young adults in comparison with visceral and subcutaneous adiposity.

Methods

A cohort study with 159 subjects (51.6% female) started in 1999 with an average age of 13.2 years. In 1999, 2006 and 2008 weight, height, and WC were evaluated. In 2006 blood samples for laboratory diagnosis of MS were added. In 2008 abdominal computed tomography (ACT) to quantify the fat deposits were also added.

Results

The WC measured in children and adolescents was strongly correlated with body mass index (BMI) measured simultaneously. A strong correlation was established between WC in 1999 with measures of WC and BMI as young adults. WC strongly correlated with fat deposits in ACT. The WC in 1999 expressed more subcutaneous fat (SAT), while the WC when young adults expressed strong correlation with both visceral fat (VAT) and SAT. The correlation of WC with fat deposits was stronger in females. WC and not BMI in 1999 was significantly higher in the group that evolved to MS.

Conclusions

The WC in children and adolescents was useful in screening patients for MS. WC expressed the accumulation of abdominal fat; especially subcutaneous fat.

Section snippets

Background & aims

In recent decades the prevalence of obesity is increasing in many countries around the world. This fact is of concern because excess body fat, especially abdominal fat, is directly related to changes in lipid profile. It is also associated with increased blood pressure and hyperinsulinemia, which are considered risk factors for developing chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus type 2 and cardiovascular diseases. However, the question now is how many of these changes are already present in

Materials and methods

We conducted a cohort study, longitudinal, observational, descriptive and analytical, with cross-cutting interventions. The cohort involved children and adolescents (7–18 years old) residing in Veranópolis, South of Brazil in 1999, both from urban and rural areas, with at least one parent alive. Veranópolis is a city with a population predominantly of white Caucasians, originally from Italy, Europe, internationally known for its high longevity. The sample was obtained from a representative and

Results

159 children and adolescents were enrolled in this study. In 1999, during the first survey, the average age was 13.2 ± 2.2 years and 51.6% were females. This and other characteristics of the population are in Table 1.

WC in 1999 showed a very strong correlation with BMI in the same year (r = 0.917, p < 0.001), as well as when it was compared with BMI in 2006 and 2008 (r = 0.685, p < 0.001 and r = 0.545, p < 0.001 respectively). WC in 1999 showed a strong correlation with WC in 2006 and 2008 (r

Main results

a) The WC measurement as a child or adolescent correlates strongly with BMI measured simultaneously, and established a strong correlation with measurements of WC as young adults, as well as the evolution of BMI; b) WC correlates strongly with deposits of fat in abdominal CT, and WC as a child and adolescent best expresses the subcutaneous fat (SAT), whereas WC when young adults, both expressed strong correlation with visceral fat (VAT) and with SAT. The correlation of WC with the fat deposits

Conclusions

The findings of this analysis of the cohort of adolescents in Veranópolis indicate that waist circumference in children and adolescents is extremely useful in screening patients for metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk. WC is an anthropometric parameter of simple measurement, requiring less equipment costs, and this study was better than BMI, which had already been reported by other authors.3, 4, 31, 32, 43, 44, 45

As the WC in this population was associated with more subcutaneous fat than

Conflict of interest

The authors hereby declare that the article is original, is not under consideration for publication anywhere else and has not been previously published. Moreover, the authors declare no potential or actual personal, political or financial interest in the material, information or techniques described in the paper.

Statement of authorship

All authors state that all authors have made substantial contributions and final approval of the conceptions, drafting, and final version of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

Manoel Pitrez was the coordinator of the trial. Luiz Vargas, João Santana, Eduardo Pitrez and Augusto Medeiros where responsible for the data collection. Emilio Morigushi was the coordinator of the Veranópolis project, where several studies have been done to understand the longevity of this population. Neide Bruscato was responsible to keep the subjects of our cohort always in contact. José Spolidoro was responsible for the data interpretation and writing of the manuscript, which was his PhD

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