Waist circumference estimation from BMI in Japanese children

Morimoto, Aya; Nishimura, Rimei; Kanda, Akira; Sano, Hironari; Matsudaira, Toru; Miyashita, Yumi; Shirasawa, Takako; Takahashi, Eiko; Kawaguchi, Takeshi; Tajima, Naoko

doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2006.05.022

« Previous Next »Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice
Volume 75, Issue 1 , Pages 96-98, January 2007

Waist circumference estimation from BMI in Japanese children

Aya Morimoto
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 3 3433 1111x3249; fax: +81 3 3578 9753.
Rimei Nishimura
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
- Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Akira Kanda
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan
Hironari Sano
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
Toru Matsudaira
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
Yumi Miyashita
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
Takako Shirasawa
- Department of Public Health, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Eiko Takahashi
- Department of Public Health, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Takeshi Kawaguchi
- Department of Public Health, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Naoko Tajima
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan

Received 6 April 2006; received in revised form 1 May 2006; accepted 25 May 2006. published online 31 August 2006.

Abstract

Waist circumference, not BMI, is one of the factors in the definition of metabolic syndrome in adults. In children, waist circumference is also a well known predictor of metabolic syndrome. However, waist circumference measurement is not as commonly recorded as weight and height measurements in physical examinations in schools. This means BMI data is available for every child, but waist circumference is not. Therefore, we investigated whether there is an alternative way to estimate waist circumference even in those children whose waist circumference measurement has not been taken. We evaluated the relationship between BMI and the waist circumference of schoolchildren using a relatively large-scale population-based cohort in Japan. There was a significant linear relationship between BMI and waist circumference noted in each age- and sex-divided group [9–10-year-old boys: waist=13.99+2.63BMI (r=0.940, p<0.001), 9–10-year-old girls: waist=15.09+2.61BMI (r=0.933, p<0.001), 12–13-year-old boys: waist=23.67+2.22BMI (r=0.880, p<0.001), 12–13-year-old girls: waist=23.83+2.15BMI (r=0.859, p<0.001)]. This means it is possible to estimate waist circumference from height and weight, at least among those age groups of children in Japan. This estimation could be an alternative way and useful in detecting childhood metabolic syndrome or obesity disease in which a waist circumference figure is necessary.