Search

Background: Childhood obesity is a public health problem worldwide. Visceral obesity, particularly associated with cardio-metabolic risk, has been assessed by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, but both methods use sex-and age-specific percentile tables and are influenced by sexual maturity. Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is easier to obtain, does not involve tables and can be used to diagnose visceral obesity, even in normal-weight individuals. This study aims to compare the WHtR to the 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) reference for BMI in screening for the presence of cardio-metabolic and inflammatory risk factors in 6-10-year-old children., Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 175 subjects selected from the Reference Center for the Treatment of Children and Adolescents in Campos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The subjects were classified according to the 2007 WHO standard as normal-weight (BMI z score>-1 and<1) or overweight/obese (BMI z score≥1). Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting glycemia, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), Homeostatic Model Assessment--Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), leukocyte count and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) were also analyzed., Results: There were significant correlations between WHtR and BMI z score (r=0.88, p<0.0001), SBP (r=0.51, p<0.0001), DBP (r=0.49, p<0.0001), LDL (r=0.25, p<0.0008, HDL (r=-0.28, p<0.0002), TG (r=0.26, p<0.0006), HOMA-IR (r=0.83, p<0.0001) and CRP (r=0.51, p<0.0001). WHtR and BMI areas under the curve were similar for all the cardio-metabolic parameters. A WHtR cut-off value of >0.47 was sensitive for screening insulin resistance and any one of the cardio-metabolic parameters., Conclusions: The WHtR was as sensitive as the 2007 WHO BMI in screening for metabolic risk factors in 6-10-year-old children. The public health message "keep your waist to less than half your height" can be effective in reducing cardio-metabolic risk because most of these risk factors are already present at a cut point of WHtR≥0.5. However, as this is the first study to correlate the WHtR with inflammatory markers, we recommend further exploration of the use of WHtR in this age group and other population-based samples.

Objective: To evaluate insulin sensitivity and the metabolic features in normal weight and overweight/obese patients with PCOS., Subjects and Methods: Forty-nine (49) patients from 18 to 45 years were retrospectively evaluated and divided into 2 groups, according to the body mass index (BMI): group 1 (18.5-24.9 kg/m(2)) and group 2 (25-40 kg/m(2)). Collected data: systolic and diastolic blood pressure; fasting and after OGTT glucose, insulin and glucose/insulin ratio; area under the curve for glucose and insulin; HOMA-IR and HOMA-beta; lipidic profile; free (FT) and total testosterone (T) levels., Results: Greater averages of pressoric levels, insulin resistance (IR) indices, triglycerides and the FT levels, in addition to lower HDL levels, were found in group 2. Neither correlation between the IMC with none of data nor of the FT and IR indices with the lipid profile were found., Conclusions: Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus in PCOS, independently on familiar history of DM. The absence of correlation between the IR indices and the FT with the lipidic profile suggests that other factors, such as the free fatty acids, can be involved in the pathogenesis of dyslipidemia in PCOS.