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Waist-to-height ratio centiles by age and sex for Japanese children based on the 1978–1981 cross-sectional national survey data

International Journal of Obesity volume 40, pages 65–70 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives:

To construct waist-to-height ratio (WC/Ht) reference values and centile curves for Japanese children and to compare these references with those from other countries.

Methods:

The 1978–1981 national survey data were used for reference and the 1992–1994 national survey data were used for validation. The former included 19 233 children, and the latter included 10 446 children, aged 6 to 18 years. Waist circumferences (WC) were measured at the level of maximum waist narrowing in girls, and at the level of the top of the iliac crest in boys. Age- and sex-specific reference curves were fitted with the LMS method. Cut-off points were arbitrarily set at 85th, 90th, 95th and 97th centiles, and compared with WC/Ht 0.50.

Results:

The proportion of children in whom WC/Ht exceeded 0.50 was 18.7% of boys and 1.9% of girls, whereas the proportion of children exceeding 90th centile was 42.4% for boys and 17.3% for girls. The reference values decreased with age in girls but varied by age without a clear trend in boys.

Conclusions:

The first reference values for WC/Ht are provided for Japanese youth based on the 1978–1981 national survey data. These curves are age- and sex-dependent, precluding the use of universal cut-off for WC/Ht of 0.50.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Center, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

    M Inokuchi

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    M Inokuchi, N Matsuo & T Hasegawa

  3. The Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement, Tokyo Healthcare Foundation, Tokyo, Japan

    N Matsuo

  4. National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

    N Matsuo

  5. Department of Pediatrics, California University School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA

    J I Takayama

Authors
  1. M Inokuchi
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  2. N Matsuo
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  3. J I Takayama
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  4. T Hasegawa
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Correspondence to T Hasegawa.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Inokuchi, M., Matsuo, N., Takayama, J. et al. Waist-to-height ratio centiles by age and sex for Japanese children based on the 1978–1981 cross-sectional national survey data. Int J Obes 40, 65–70 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.203

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