Combined Body Mass Index and Waist-to-Height Ratio and Its Association with Lifestyle and Health Factors among Spanish Children: The PASOS Study

• Published in: Nutrients 2022-01, Vol.14 (2), p.234
• Main Authors: Bibiloni, Maria Del Mar, Gallardo-Alfaro, Laura, Gómez, Santiago F, Wärnberg, Julia, Osés-Recalde, Maddi, González-Gross, Marcela, Gusi, Narcís, Aznar, Susana, Marín-Cascales, Elena, González-Valeiro, Miguel, Serra-Majem, Lluís, Terrados, Nicolás, Segu, Marta, Lassale, Camille, Homs, Clara, Benavente-Marín, Juan Carlos, Labayen, Idoia, Zapico, Augusto G, Sánchez-Gómez, Jesús, Jiménez-Zazo, Fabio, Alcaraz, Pedro E, Sevilla-Sánchez, Marta, Herrera-Ramos, Estefanía, Pulgar, Susana, Sistac, Clara, Schröder, Helmut, Bouzas, Cristina, Tur, Josep A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Adolescent; Adolescents; Anthropometry; Behavior; Body height; Body mass; Body Mass Index; Body size; Body weight; Caregivers; Categories; Child; Child Behavior; Children; Children & youth; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diet; Education; Educational Status; Exercise - statistics & numerical data; Female; Females; Genetic crosses; Guardians; Health risks; Humans; Hypertension; Life Style; lifestyle; Lifestyles; Male; Mediterranean diet; Mothers; Mothers - statistics & numerical data; Nutrition research; Obesity; Offspring; Overweight; PASOS; Pediatric Obesity - epidemiology; Physical activity; Prevalence; Questionnaires; Risk; Risk Factors; Screen Time; Spain - epidemiology; Teenagers; Waist-Height Ratio
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu14020234

The World Health Organization recommended simultaneous measurement of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and suggested joint use to predict disease risks. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of BMI and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) categories among Spanish children and adolescents, as well as their associations with several lifestyle factors. Cross-sectional analysis of 8-16-year-old children and adolescents ( = 3772) were included in the PASOS nationwide representative study. Children/adolescents and their mothers/female caregivers answered a questionnaire on lifestyle and health factors. Child/adolescent anthropometrics were measured. Four combined BMI-WHtR disease risk categories were built. A third of participants showed combined BMI-WHtR categories with high disease risk (12.3% 'increased risk', 9.7% 'high risk', 14.3% 'very high risk'). Participants in the 'very high risk' group were less likely to be females (odds ratio 0.63; 95% CI: 0.52-0.76) and adolescents (0.60; 95% CI: 0.49-0.72), to practice ≥60 min/day of moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (0.73; 95% CI: 0.57-0.93), and to watch