An Investigation of the Utility of Waist Circumference Predicting Cardiorespiratory Fitness in School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The early identification of modifiable risk factors and their monitoring, also within school physical education (PE) classes, are becoming indispensable in the context of public health. The aim of this study was to test whether making use of waist circumference (WC) measurements increases the possibility of predicting the results of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in school-age children, as compared with body mass index (BMI) and other somatic indicators related to body fat. The cross-sectional study covered 190 children aged 10 to 15 years, participating in school PE classes. Body height (BH), body weight (BW), WC, hip circumference (HC) and percentage of body fat (BF%) were measured. BMI, waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were calculated, and a CRF test was performed by means of a 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT). The peak heart rate (HR peak) of the children was also measured. The regression model that was developed showed that WC (R2 = 47.1%), beyond BF% (R2 = 50.3%) and WHtR (R2 = 50.0%), was a useful measure of CRF, and stronger than BMI (R2 = 45.8%) or WHR (R2 = 39.2%). The risk of obtaining the CRF result classified below a good level (below the percentile range of P60-P80) was significantly higher in children with a larger WC (odds ratio (OR) for the WC change of 1 cm equals 1.14 (95% CI: 1.09–1.20; p < 0.001)). The simplicity of measuring WC and the possibility of using this measurement in the calculation of WHtR with reference to CRF indicate its usefulness in the prophylactic exams of school children.

Comparison of Several Anthropometric Indices Related to Body Fat in Predicting Cardiorespiratory Fitness in School-Aged Children—A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study

“…As indicated in the introduction, BMI should not be the only index applied in the assessment of an individual's health. Our prior findings [45] have demonstrated that it is also worth including the measurement of WC in the examination of children and youth. This is a straightforward yet highly efficient measure of abdominal obesity whose result can also be used in calculating WHtR, commonly known and widely described in the literature.…”

“…1/06/2014 and with all the required consent procured). The children who did not have the necessary consent or who did but were not present when the tests were being administered were not included in the project (whose details are available in the previous publication [45]). Within the tests, anthropometric measurements and a CRF test were performed, and data on the age and sex of the tested children were collected.…”

“…The measurements were taken by trained staff, according to the protocol, and the procedures for BW, body height (BH), %BF, WC and hip circumference (HC) measurement as well as for the assessment of the CRF are described in detail elsewhere [45]. In brief, BH and the circumferences were measured to the nearest 0.001 m with stadiometer Seca 213 (Germany, Hamburg) and Baseline Gulick anthropometric tape, respectively, while %BF was assessed with a Tanita TBF 300 (Japan, Tokyo, Tanita Corporation) employing BIA (electrical bioimpedance analysis).…”

The Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Children and the Anthropometric Determinants During Late Childhood Within South East Wales: Potential Implications for Future Health

“…In addition to tracking levels of CRF it has been suggested that having better levels of CRF are correlated with various positive health indicators such as lower levels of obesity. 6 , 10 Pereira et al 8 suggested that children with adequate body mass index (BMI) and CRF levels were less likely to develop chronic diseases and more likely to display positive health outcomes. Therefore, considering the impact of BMI and CRF on children’s developmental health, Stoner et al 9 suggested that it is vitality important to simultaneously measure these variables and potentially consider additional correlates that may influence these factors.…”

“…Therefore, considering the impact of BMI and CRF on children’s developmental health, Stoner et al 9 suggested that it is vitality important to simultaneously measure these variables and potentially consider additional correlates that may influence these factors. In clinical practice and research relating to children and adolescence populations, BMI is still the most reported measure of weight status and obesity due to its simple invasive approach, 10 but Lui et al 11 advocates that considering the use of BMI alone is limiting due to its lack of reference to body fat. More recently, Domaradzka et al 10 has suggested finding more than one simple to measure indicator which when combined with BMI will allow for a better estimation of health.…”