Fat mass, fat mass percentage, body mass index, and mid-upper arm circumference in a healthy population of Nigerian children.

Abstract

We determined body fat mass, body mass index, and mid-upper arm circumference, in 5-15-year-old Nigerian children consisting of 454 (50 per cent) males and 450 (50 per cent) females. We derived regression equations between body fat mass and age, body mass index, and mid-upper arm circumference for each sex. The mean of age and height were similar in both sexes, while that of fat mass, percentage fat mass, body mass index, and mid-upper arm circumference were significantly higher in the female than male. Percentage fat mass varied between 3.02 and 32.16, and 1.88 and 53.84 in males and females, respectively (P = 0.0000). The percentage fat mass increased slightly with age (but significantly) in the female and decreased slightly with age in the male. Based on the US standards 164 (18 per cent) of the children were obese. We conclude that with improvement in living standards, childhood obesity may become a medical problem in Nigeria.