Associations of body size and morphology with cardiometabolic health in children: the contribution of genetic factors

ObjectiveWe analyzed how anthropometric measures predict cardiometabolic health and how genetic and environmental factors contribute to these associations.MethodsData on 8 indicators of cardiometabolic health, 21 anthropometric measures, and 11 anthropometric indices were available for 216 twin pairs of individuals age 3 to 18 years living in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal (51% girls). Genetic twin modeling was used to estimate genetic and environmental correlations between the cardiometabolic and anthropometric indicators.ResultsAnthropometric indicators were positively associated with blood pressure and triglycerides and inversely associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The associations with glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and heart rate were close to zero. BMI and waist circumference showed similar or slightly higher absolute correlations with cardiometabolic health indicators compared with other anthropometric indices. Additive genetic and unique environmental correlations were at the same level as trait correlations.ConclusionsBMI and waist circumference provide information on cardiometabolic health that is not less accurate than that provided by more comprehensive anthropometric indices. These associations reflect causal associations between obesity and cardiometabolic disorders rather than only shared genetic associations. Measuring obesity is important for monitoring cardiometabolic risks and can be accomplished using simple indicators at the population level.