The Utility of Body Mass Index as a Measure of Body Fatness in Children and Adolescents: Differences by Race and Gender

Background:Different approaches to measuring physical activity and fatness in youth have resulted in studies reporting relationships ranging from very strong to nonexistent.Methods:The sample comprised 787 boys and 752 girls between the ages of 7 and 16 years. Pedometer-determined physical activity, height, weight, and waist girth measures were taken.Results:Significant differences were found in activity level between body mass index-determined weight categories for the girls (F1,742 = 9.07, P = .003) but not for the boys (F1,777 = 3.59, P = .06) and between truncal adiposity groupings for the boys (F1,777 = 4.69, P = .03) and the girls (F1,742= 13.56, P = .000).Conclusions:The relationship between physical activity and body fatness differs according to the measure used and between boys and girls. Factors contributing to body fatness such as eating behaviors or sedentary activities might be more important among boys than girls.

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Validity of body mass index compared with other body-composition screening indexes for the assessment of body fatness in children and adolescents

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.1093/ajcn/75.6.978 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 75 (6) ◽

pp. 978-985 ◽

Cited By ~ 447

Author(s):

Zuguo Mei ◽

Laurence M Grummer-Strawn ◽

Angelo Pietrobelli ◽

Ailsa Goulding ◽

Michael I Goran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Composition ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Body Mass ◽

Body Fatness

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Body mass index, mortality, and gender difference in advanced chronic kidney disease.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.725464857.793506745 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Luis Ruilope ◽

Enrique Morales

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Gender Difference ◽

Body Mass ◽

Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

And Gender

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Examination of Sleep and Obesity in Children and Adolescents in the United States

American Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/08901171211029189 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089011712110291

Author(s):

Puneet Kaur Chehal ◽

Livvy Shafer ◽

Solveig Argeseanu Cunningham

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

Body Mass ◽

The United States ◽

Weight Category ◽

Lower Odds ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Child Height ◽

Nationally Representative

Purpose: This study contributes to the growing literature on the association between sleep and obesity by examining the associations between hours of sleep, consistency of bedtime, and obesity among children in the US. Design: Analysis of a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized children from the 2016-17 National Survey of Children’s Health. Setting: US, national. Subjects: Children ages 10-17 years (n = 34,640) Measures: Parent reported weeknight average hours of sleep and consistency of bedtime. Body mass index classified as underweight, normal, overweight or obesity using parent-reported child height and weight information, classified using CDC BMI-for-Age Growth Charts. Analysis: Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between measures of sleep and body mass index weight category adjusting for individual, household and neighborhood characteristics. Results: An additional hour of sleep was associated with 10.8% lower odds of obesity, net of consistency in bedtime. After controlling for sleep duration, children who usually went to bed at the same time on weeknights had lower odds of obesity (24.8%) relative to children who always went to bed at the same time. Conclusion: Sleep duration is predictive of lower odds of obesity in US children and adolescents. Some variability in weeknight bedtime is associated with lower odds of obesity, though there were no additional benefits to extensive variability in bedtime.

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