Anthropometric measurements used to assess adiposity in African American elementary school children

Over nine million children 6-17 years old are overweight in the United States. They may face the highest risk ever for overweight, obesity, and associated health problems as adults. This study's purpose was to evaluate adiposity measurement methods in children by comparing accuracy, cost effectiveness, ease of use, and practicality. IRB approval, parental consent and student assent were obtained. Data were collected by trained employees at six elementary schools on 789 subjects for boys (n= 391) and girls (n=398) 5-11 years old African American children. Hip and waist circumferences, height, and weight were collected. BMI, Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR), and Waist to Height Ratio (WHTR) were calculated. Upon analysis, weight and hip circumference were correlated (r = .94135) and waist circumference was correlated to BMI (r = .92396). The measures of adiposity were highly correlated indicating that a variety of anthropometric measurements can be used for measuring children.