Usefulness of an age-adjusted body shape index in Korean children and adolescents

Background: The aim of the present paper was to determine the usefulness of an age-adjusted anthropometric index of body shape for the assessment of obesity in Korean children and adolescents aged 10-15 years Methods: The population sample was composed of 556 boys and 489 girls who completed an interview survey, anthropometry, and medical examination for the Korean National Health and Nutritional Survey conducted in 1998. An age-adjusted anthropometric index, body shape index standard deviation score (BSI-SDS), was derived from waist-to-hip ratio divided by height (WHR/Ht) and its common standard deviation according to Asayama et al. (1997). Serum levels of lipids, glucose, and liver function markers were defined as abnormal if they were above the 90th percentile of the study population. Using logistic regression analysis, the odds ratios of having a lipidemic, diabetic, or liver complication on increasing BSI-SDS were estimated. Results: For both boys and girls, lipidemic and liver complications had statistically significant odds ratios associated with increasing BSI-SDS. With 1 unit increase in BSI-SDS, the odds ratios of lipidemic complications were 1.5 and 1.3, respectively, for boys and girls, and the odds ratios of liver complications were 1.3 and 1.4, respectively, for boys and girls. Conclusions: A new measure developed by Asayama et al., BSI-SDS, is a useful marker of obesity in addition to body mass index among Korean children and adolescents aged 10-15 years.