Abstract
BackgroundIn developed nations, taller children exhibit a greater propensity to overweight/obesity. This study investigates whether this height-adiposity relationship holds true for Cameroon children using two parameters of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC).MethodsIn 557 children (287 boys and 270 girls, mean age 9.0 ± 1.8 years) from the North West Region of Cameroon height, weight and WC were measured and BMI calculated. Variables were converted to standard deviation scores (SDS). Participants were divided into quartiles of height SDS, then mean of age and sex-standardized body fat parameters compared across quartiles. The frequency of excess adiposity was calculated within each quartile. Correlation and regression analysis were used to assess height-adiposity relationships.ResultsMultiple comparisons indicated a significant increase in mean BMI (−0.08 to 0.65) and WC (−0.11 to 0.87) SDSs with increasing quartiles of height SDS. Frequency of overweight/obesity and abdominal overweight/obesity was highest among children with highest height SDS (30.2 – 33.1%) and lowest in their shortest peers (0.7 – 5.0%). There was a linear relationship between height SDS and BMI SDS (R2 = 0.087, p < 0.001); height SDS and WC SDS (R2 = 0.356, p < 0.001) among both boys and girls.ConclusionsThis study shows that in Cameroon just as in developed economies a higher height SDS is associated with a higher frequency of overweight/obesity. This is independent of the parameter used to evaluate overweight/obesity (BMI SDS or WC SDS).
Highlights
In developed nations, taller children exhibit a greater propensity to overweight/obesity
There is a global increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity [1] affecting approximately 10% of school children worldwide [2,3] This increase had been noted to occur at a faster rate in developing countries undergoing nutrition transition [4,5]
There was no significant difference in body mass index (BMI) by gender
Summary
Taller children exhibit a greater propensity to overweight/obesity. There is a global increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity [1] affecting approximately 10% of school children worldwide [2,3] This increase had been noted to occur at a faster rate in developing countries undergoing nutrition transition [4,5]. Available data on preschool children indicate that the prevalence of overweight in 1991 was 2.9% for Cameroon [6]. Newer data especially on school-age children are not available for Cameroon. This neglect could be due to the fact that it is still a belief that overweight and obesity are problems of. A recent study in Chile, a transition economy, indicated that there is a positive association between obesity and higher height-for-age in children [5]. Similar analyses have shown tallness to be associated to thicker skinfolds in
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