Utility of the waist-to-height ratio as an instrument to measure parental perception of body weight in children and its use in a population-based survey of children

Factors Influencing Parents' and Children's Misperception of Children's Weight Status: a Systematic Review of Current Research

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Misperception of children's weight status is prevalent among parents and children themselves and may impact parents' and children's health behaviors. This study was conducted in order to provide a descriptive systematic review of research on factors influencing parents' and children's misperceptions of children's weight status published in the past 5 years.

RECENT FINDINGS

Factors studied most often in relation to parents' and children's misperception included children's weight status, gender, and age, as well as parents' weight status, parental education levels and socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. Most determinants that were found to have a significant influence on misperception in parents also did in children. The literature on misperception of children's weight status is extensive. Most determinants assessed in included studies were known determinants of childhood obesity. Further research should be directed toward better understanding the impact of weight status perception (whether it is accurate or not) on health behaviors and weight gain over time.

What is the appropriate strategy for diagnosing NAFLD using ultrasonography in obese children?

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to identify obese children who are candidates for a potential diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

METHODS

We enrolled 242 obese children (122 boys and 120 girls) aged 7-16 years who were examined with abdominal ultrasonography in our pediatric obesity clinic. We compared patients in the normal group with those in the NAFLD group (mild disease, moderate to severe disease) and identified the optimal anthropometric parameters among height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist to height ratio (WHtR), and waist to hip ratio to predict NAFLD using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. We also investigated risk factors associated with NAFLD for the anthropometric parameters and the biochemical model using logistic regression.

RESULTS

The high- and low-risk groups for hepatic steatosis relative to a WHtR of 0.56 as the standard point showed significant differences in hepatic steatosis severity grade (P<0.001), BMI (P=0.004), hip circumference (P=0.090), aspartate aminotransferase (P<0.001), alanine aminotransferase (P<0.001), triglycerides (P=0.001), and the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio (P=0.006). Risk factors for hepatic steatosis on logistic regression analysis were male sex (odds ratio: 3.68, 95% confidence interval: 1.76-7.70), WHtR >0.56 (2.25, 1.05-4.81), and waist circumference >90th percentile (20.22, 9.21-44.36) in the anthropometric parameter model and elevated alanine aminotransferase levels (boys >25.8 U/L, girls >22.1 U/L) (6.93, 2.52-19.03), hypertriglyceridemia (>110 mg/dL) (3.80, 1.23-11.75), and triglyceride to HDL cholesterol ratio >3 (9.23, 2.95-8.83) in the biochemical parameter model.

CONCLUSION

A diagnostic approach to hepatic steatosis is recommended as part of the proper screening and stratification of risk factors in obese children. WHtR is a simple and convenient method of effectively identifying obese children who are candidates for hepatic steatosis screening.

Comparison of direct measures of adiposity with indirect measures for assessing cardiometabolic risk factors in preadolescent girls

Background

Childhood overweight and obesity remains high, contributing to cardiometabolic risk factors at younger ages. It is unclear which measures of adiposity serve as the best proxies for identifying children at metabolic risk. This study assessed whether DXA-derived direct measures of adiposity are more strongly related to cardiometabolic risk factors in children than indirect measures.

Methods

Anthropometric and DXA measures of adiposity and a comprehensive assessment of cardiometabolic risk factors were obtained in 288, 9–12 year old girls, most being of Hispanic ethnicity. Multiple regression models for each metabolic parameter were run against each adiposity measure while controlling for maturation and ethnicity. In addition, regression models including both indirect and direct measures were developed to assess whether using direct measures of adiposity could provide a better prediction of the cardiometabolic risk factors beyond that of using indirect measures alone.

Results

Measures of adiposity were significantly correlated with cardiometabolic risk factors (p < 0.05) except fasting glucose. After adjusting for maturation and ethnicity, indirect measures of adiposity accounted for 29-34% in HOMA-IR, 10-13% in TG, 14-17% in HDL-C, and 5-8% in LDL-C while direct measures accounted for 29-34% in HOMA-IR, 10-12% in TG, 13-16% in HDL-C, and 5-6% in LDL-C. The addition of direct measures of adiposity to indirect measures added significantly to the variance explained for HOMA-IR (p = 0.04).

Conclusion

Anthropometric measures may perform as well as the more precise direct DXA-derived measures of adiposity for assessing most CVD risk factors in preadolescent girls. The use of DXA-derived adiposity measures together with indirect measures may be advantageous for predicting insulin resistance risk.

Trial registration

NCT02654262. Retrospectively registered 11 January 2016.

Young children's screen activities, sweet drink consumption and anthropometry: results from a prospective European study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

This longitudinal study describes the relationship between young children's screen time, dietary habits and anthropometric measures. The hypothesis was that television viewing and other screen activities at baseline result in increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and increased BMI, BMI z-score and waist to height ratio (WHtR) two years later. A second hypothesis was that SSB consumption mediates the association between the screen activities and changes in the anthropometric measures.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

The study is a part of the prospective cohort study IDEFICS ("Identification and prevention of dietary and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants"), investigating diet, lifestyle and social determinants of obesity in 2 to 9-year-olds in eight European countries (baseline n=16,225, two-year follow-up; n=11,038). Anthropometry was objectively measured, and behaviours were parent-reported.

RESULTS

The main hypothesis was supported, but the second hypothesis was not confirmed. The odds ratio of being in the highest quintile of % change in WHtR was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.17-1.36) and in BMI 1.22 (95% CI: 1.13-1.31), for each hour per day watching television. The odds ratio of having increased SSB consumption was 1.19 (95% CI: 1.09-1.29) for each hour per day watching TV. The associations for total screen time were slightly weaker.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate substantial effects of TV viewing and other screen activities for young children, both on their consumption of sugary drinks and on an increase in BMI and central obesity. Our findings suggest that television viewing seems to have a stronger effect on food habits and anthropometry than other screen activities in this age group.