Abstract

CORTES-MARTINEZ, Gabriela; VALLEJO-DE LA CRUZ, Norma Linet; PEREZ-SALGADO, Diana  and  ORTIZ-HERNANDEZ, Luis. Usefulness of body silhouettes to assess the nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents in Mexico City. Bol. Med. Hosp. Infant. Mex. [online]. 2009, vol.66, n.6, pp.511-521. ISSN 1665-1146.

Background. In México, overweight and obesity have become a public health problem. Anthropometric measurements are generally used to diagnose these illnesses. However, in some situations or places there is no equipment available to measure these anthropometric indicators. The aim of the present study is to validate the body silhouette to assess the nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 6- to 18-year-old subjects from México City (n =1862). Two types of body silhouettes (Stunkard and KEDS) were validated. Body mass index for age estimated by mean height and weight was used as standard. To assess the accuracy of the diagnosis with the body silhouette, ROC curve (receiver operating characteristic) method was used. The area under the curve (AUC) and optimal cut-off (OC) were estimated. Results. The most accurate assessment for diagnosing obesity was obtained by the interviewers who used the Stunkard silhouettes (AUC = 0.94). The fifth silhouette was the OC. Conclusions. When necessary equipment for measuring weight and height are unavailable, the Stunkard silhouettes can be used as a proxy indicator of the nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents.

Keywords : silhouettes; body mass index; obesity; overweight; body size; nutritional status.

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