Leptin is Associated with the Tri-Ponderal Mass Index in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Brianna Empringham,1,2 William J Jennings,1,2 Raeesha Rajan,1– 3 Adam J Fleming,1,4 Carol Portwine,1,4 Donna L Johnston,5 Shayna M Zelcer,6 Shahrad Rod Rassekh,7 Victoria Tran,1,2 Sarah Burrow,8 Lehana Thabane,3,9– 11 M Constantine Samaan1– 3 1Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 2Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 3Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 4Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 5Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; 6Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Center, London, Ontario, Canada; 7Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT, Department of Pediatrics, British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 8Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University Medical Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 9Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 10Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, St. Joseph’s Health Care, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; 11Biostatistics Unit, St Joseph’s Healthcare-Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaCorrespondence: M Constantine SamaanDepartment of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, McMaster Children’s Hospital, 1280 Main Street West, 3A-57, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1 Tel +001-905-521-2100, ext. 75926Fax +001-905-308-7548Email samaanc@mcmaster.caBackground: Obesity is characterized by the disproportionate expansion of the fat mass and is most commonly diagnosed using the Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score or percentile in children. However, these measures associate poorly with the fat mass. This i