Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk by Waist-to-Height Ratio in School-Age Children

Background: Childhood overweight and obesity are among the major public health problems worldwide. In Mexico, it has been reported in 2018 that 35.6% of children between 5 and 11 years old were overweight or obese. Central obesity is associated with the development of different complications, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). An important tool used to evaluate obesity is the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and values higher than 0.5 suggest the existence of cardiovascular risk (CVR). The aim of this study was to evaluate CVR by the WHtR in school-age children from Yucatan, Mexico. Methods: This study included a sample of school-age children between the ages of 10 and 13 years from public schools in Yucatan, Mexico. Anthropometric parameters such as body weight, height, body mass index z-score (zBMI), waist circumference, WHtR, and CVR were evaluated. Results: A total of 2559 children with a median age of 12.1 +/- 0.57 years old were evaluated. The classification by height z score showed that 26.8% were of short height, 73.1% were of normal height, and 0.1% were of tall height. The prevalence of body weight excess determined by zBMI was 48%. The prevalence of normal weight was 44%, and the prevalence of body weight deficiencies was 8%. The CVR determined by WHtR was 47.5%. In the population with obesity, 63.3% had an increased risk of CVDs and 30.7% had a very high risk. Moreover, it was observed that 13.2% of the population with normal weight had an increased risk of CVDs. Conclusion: One out of two child 10 to 13 years of age is overweight or obese as defined with zBMI in Mexico. According to WHtR, almost half of this population is at increased CVR, while near two-third of child with obesity are at high or very high CVR.