Estimation of body fat among 2-to-7-year-old Spanish children by different skinfolds equations and waist-to-height ratio

• Ana Isabel Gutiérrez Hervás ^[1] ; Ernesto Cortés Castell ^[2] ; Mercedes Juste Ruíz ^[2] ; Vicente Gil Guillén ^[2] ; María Mercedes Rizo Baeza ^[1]
  1. [1] Universitat d'Alacant

     Universitat d'Alacant

     Alicante, España

     
  2. [2] Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

     Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

     Elche, España

     
• Localización: Nutrición hospitalaria: Órgano oficial de la Sociedad Española de Nutrición Clínica y Metabolismo (SENPE), ISSN-e 1699-5198, ISSN 0212-1611, Vol. 34, Nº. 6 (Noviembre-Diciembre), 2017, págs. 1299-1304
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.20960/nh.1111
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Determinación de grasa corporal en niños españoles de 2 a 7 años mediante diferentes fórmulas de plicometría y el índice cintura-talla
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• Resumen

  • Introduction: It seems relevant to analyze the body composition in the early childhood. However, there is not an agreement in the protocol to assess body composition in this age range/group.

    Objective: To determine the most useful equation to estimate the body fat percentage that preschool children contain and the utility of the waist-to-height ratio to determine abdominal obesity.

    Methods: We measured (weight, height, waist circumference and skinfolds) in 285 children aged 2 to 7 years old. BMI Z-Score, waist-to-height ratio and body fat percentage were estimated by Brook and Lukaski, Siri, Goran, Slaughter, Deurenberg, Huang, Dezenberg and Hoffman equations.

    Results: It was found 26% combined overweight and obesity, with similar distribution in both sexes. The body fat obtained with the Hoffman equation (15.6-31.9%) showed the highest correlation with children BMI Z-Score. Waist-to-height ratio also presented a good relationship with children weight status. There were not significant differences between gender and body fat percentage or waist-to-height ratio.

    Conclusions: Hoffman equation and waist-to-height ratio could be adequate to estimate body fat percentage and abdominal obesity respectively in Spanish preschool children from medium-low socioeconomic status.