South Asian Children Have Increased Body Fat in Comparison to White Children at the Same Body Mass Index.
Abstract
The ability of body mass index (BMI) to predict excess fat in South Asian children is unknown. This cross-sectional study examines the influence of ethnicity on body fatness in children. Weight status and body fat were determined using BMI, waist circumference (WC), two skinfold sites (SF; triceps and subscapula) and leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA; Tanita BF350, Tanita, Tokyo, Japan) in 194 children aged 8.47 ± 0.50 years from Coventry, United Kingdom. Biological maturity was also determined. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) identified significant differences between ethnic (p < 0.001) and gender groups' BMI (p = 0.026), with a significant covariate for skinfold (p < 0.001) and bioelectrical impedance (p < 0.001). For a given body fat value, South Asian children and females had a lower BMI value (-1.12 kg/m², p < 0.001 and -0.50 kg/m², p = 0.026, respectively, when adjusted for SF; -1.56 kg/m², p < 0.001 and -0.31 kg/m², p = 0.16, respectively, when adjusted for BIA) compared with white children and boys. The prediction model including ethnicity, gender and BIA explained 80.4% of the variance in BMI. Maturation was not found to be a significant covariate (p > 0.05). To conclude, the findings suggest that BMI cut-points may need to be lowered in South Asian children, and thus age-by-sex-by-ethnicity specific BMI cut-points are needed in children. Further research examining body composition with health parameters in this population is needed.Citation
South Asian Children Have Increased Body Fat in Comparison to White Children at the Same Body Mass Index. 2017, 4 (11) Children (Basel)Publisher
MDPIJournal
Children (Basel, Switzerland)PubMed ID
29165375Type
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
2227-9067ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/children4110102
Scopus Count
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- Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Archived with thanks to Children (Basel, Switzerland)
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