Five year trends on total and abdominal adiposity in Spanish adolescents

Sexual dimorphism of adiposity and fat distribution among children and adolescents (8-18 year olds) from Poland

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to analyze the sexual dimorphism of total body fat [BF%] and fat distribution among 8-18 year olds from Poland.

METHODS

The study included 2175 participants, divided into sex and age groups. Waist and hip circumferences, the thickness of six skinfolds, waist-to-hips ratio [WHR], the ratio of abdominal-to-suprailiac skinfolds, and the limb-to-trunk adiposity index were analyzed. Fat percentage were measured with a body composition analyzer (Tanita) with accuracy 0.1%. The Mollison's Index [MI] was used for calculating sexual dimorphism.

RESULTS

The value of MI for the WHR and its components (waist and hip circumferences) was negative (the boys were characterized by higher values of these parameters). The magnitude of the sex differences was lower in the younger age groups and the highest in the oldest groups. For adiposity [BF%], the average values were higher in females. In the younger age groups, girls had thicker skinfolds compared to boys, and this tendency was also observed in the older age groups, except for abdominal and suprailiac skinfolds. The values of the analyzed adiposity indicators also represented a tendency toward central allocation of fat tissue in boys.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, sexual dimorphism of fat distribution and adiposity could be detected as early as 7 years of age. These differences can be identified using simple anthropometric methods, which are relatively cheap and easy to use, particularly in the field setting and large populations. The observation of changes in these features in children should be a recommended procedure aimed at early detection of overweight, obesity, as well as normal weight obesity or other metabolic disorders.

Trends in Measures of Childhood Obesity in Korea From 1998 to 2012

BACKGROUND

During the last several decades, the number of children who are overweight or obese has reached alarming levels worldwide. The purpose of the present study was to examine trends in measures of childhood obesity among Korean children aged 2-19 from 1998 to 2012.

METHODS

Height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Age-adjusted means of WC and BMI were compared between years. We used three international criteria (International Obesity Task Force [IOTF], World Health Organization [WHO], United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]) and a Korean national reference standard (Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [KCDC]) to calculate age-standardized prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity.

RESULTS

Despite differences in absolute prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity according to the four different criteria, the time trends of prevalence were generally similar across criteria. The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity generally stabilized from 2001-2012 in both boys and girls. WC decreased from 2001-2012 in both boys and girls aged 2-19.

CONCLUSIONS

Further studies exploring the factors causing plateaued trends of childhood obesity measures are needed to implement effective policies for reducing the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity.