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BACKGROUND: Mississippi (MS) Delta adults and youth report obesity rates far exceeding those of the state and nation. State law requires in-school physical activity and nutrition practices to address childhood obesity but does not require evaluation of outcomes, specifically the impact on weight-related outcomes. This paper offers 3 things: (1) describes the weight status of elementary school-age children in the MS Delta; (2) explains the importance of including waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) values when reporting body mass index (BMI); and (3) provides impetus for policy that requires weight-related health risk, as measured by WHtR, to be assessed regularly as a means to evaluate school health policy. METHODS: We took anthropometric measures in a cross-sectional investigation of 1136 children from 11 public elementary schools in the MS Delta. Measures included BMI, waist circumference (WC) and WHtR. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI ≥85th percentile) was 47.1% (18.3% overweight and 28.8% obese). In this sample, 59.9% and 42.0% were 'at risk' for weight-related chronic disease based on WC (≥75th percentile) and WHtR (>0.5), respectively. The differences in these proportions were statistically significant. The predominantly black districts reported higher on all of the weight-related measures. CONCLUSIONS: Investigators recommend the assessment of health policy include measures of health risk in addition to BMI, namely WHtR as it accounts for growth in both WC and height over age. Furthermore, WHtR is a more accurate indicator of fat distribution and health risk than WC alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Impaired pulmonary function has been associated with increased cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between pulmonary function and left ventricular (LV) mass. Methods: Participants were African American women (n = 1,069) and men (n = 555) aged 49-73 years, from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Mean pulmonary function values at the first (1987-1989) and second (1990-1992) examinations were used. Echocardiograms were performed at the third and early in the fourth examinations (1993-1996). Analysis of covariance and linear regression were used to assess associations. Results: Mean levels of LV mass decreased with increasing quintiles of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) among female never smokers (P = 0.039). Forced vital capacity (FVC) showed stronger associations than FEV1 with LV mass. Among men, LV mass was positively associated with FEV1 among current and never smokers, and with FVC among never smokers. Additional analyses among never smokers revealed significant inverse associations between LV mass and FVC among women with waist-to-hip ratios of >0.85 and those with no history of diabetes. In contrast, significant positive associations between LV mass and FVC were seen among male never smokers with body mass index (BMI) of ≤24.9 kg/m2, waist-to-hip ratios of ≤0.95, no history of hypertension or diabetes, and ≤60 years old. BMI and waist-to-hip ratio significantly modified associations among men. Conclusions: Among never smokers, LV mass and pulmonary function were inversely associated among women and positively associated among men. Further studies are warranted. (Echocardiography 2012;29:131-139) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]