Waist Circumference: A Simple Measure for Childhood Obesity?

Childhood obesity has been increasing all over the world and considered one of the major challenges in public health. The prevalence increased from less than 1% in 1975 to 5.6% and 7.8% among girls and boys, respectively, in 2016. No less worrying are the recent data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showing that in 2008-2009, 51.4% of boys and 43.8% of girls aged between 5 and 9 years were overweight or obese.

Obese children and adolescents are five times more likely to become obese adults. Besides, childhood obesity has been associated with hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and increased morbidity and mortality in adult life. Therefore, it is important to screen for excess body fat in this population and create strategies to prevent the development of chronic diseases in the future.

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