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Cited by 14Obesity, Physical Activity, DietDiabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and LipoproteinsBody Composition Measurement Techniques

Secular change in waist circumference and waist-height ratio and optimal cutoff of waist-height ratio for abdominal obesity among Korean children and adolescents over 10 years

Open access
Kim, Min Sub, Kim, Se Young, Kim, Jae Hyun·2019·Korean Journal of Pediatrics
DOI 10.3345/kjp.2018.07038PMC PMC6642921
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Abstract

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the time trends of waist circumference (WC) and waist-height ratio (WHR), and to present WC and WHR distributions with optimal WHR cutoff for abdominal obesity in Korean children and adolescents. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of data from 13,257 children and adolescents (6,987 boys and 6,270 girls) aged 6-18 years who were included in the third to sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2005-2015). Linear regression analyses were used to identify secular changes in WC and WHR by age, sex, and KNHANES waves. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimal WHR cutoff values for abdominal obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors. RESULTS: The mean WC and WHR distributions from 2005 to 2015 showed no significant secular changes between the KNHANES 4 waves (P for trend ≥0.05 in all ages and both sexes). The mean WCs in the present study were lower than those in the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts. The mean WHR at ages <13 years was statistically higher in the boys than in the girls, but did not significantly differ between the sexes among those aged 13 to 18 years. The optimal WHR cutoff for abdominal obesity was 0.48 (area under the curve, 0.985; 95% confidence interval, 0.985-0.985) in the 13- to 18-yearold adolescents. CONCLUSION: WC and WHR showed no secular changes over 10 years. The optimal WHR cutoff for abdominal obesity of 0.48 is useful for diagnosing and managing obesity and thus preventing obesityrelated cardiometabolic complications in 13- to 18-year-old Korean adolescents.

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  • The 2007 WC reference included only several percentile values.

    “The currently used WC reference, which was published in the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts, has several drawbacks; specifically, its development did not adopt standardized measurements of WC, only included several percentile values, presented no graphical charts, and did not exclude children and adolescents with severe obesity.18,19”

    From Reference Values for Waist Circumference and Waist–Height Ratio in Korean Children and Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Results section (‘Comparison of mean WC with 2007 Korean National Growth Charts’; page unavailable) compares the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentile curves with the 2007 reference. It does not say those were the only percentile values included in that reference, so the ‘only’ part is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • According to a recent study of Korean adolescents 13-18 years of age, the cutoff value of WHtR for diagnosing abdominal obesity was 0.48, which is lower than 0.5.

    “According to a recent study of Korean adolescents 13−18 years of age, the cutoff value of WHtR for diagnosing abdominal obesity was 0.48, which is lower than 0.5.19”

    From Reference Values for Waist Circumference and Waist–Height Ratio in Korean Children and Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [19]

  • The 2007 WC reference presented no graphical charts.

    “The currently used WC reference, which was published in the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts, has several drawbacks; specifically, its development did not adopt standardized measurements of WC, only included several percentile values, presented no graphical charts, and did not exclude children and adolescents with severe obesity.18,19”

    From Reference Values for Waist Circumference and Waist–Height Ratio in Korean Children and Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Results section comparing WC with the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts discusses percentile curves and a figure in this paper, but does not say whether the 2007 reference itself presented graphical charts. Searches for graphical charts and for how the 2007 reference presented its WC percentiles found no passage addressing that point. (LLM, conf=0.72)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The 2007 WC reference did not exclude children and adolescents with severe obesity.

    “The currently used WC reference, which was published in the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts, has several drawbacks; specifically, its development did not adopt standardized measurements of WC, only included several percentile values, presented no graphical charts, and did not exclude children and adolescents with severe obesity.18,19”

    From Reference Values for Waist Circumference and Waist–Height Ratio in Korean Children and Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Discussion says the 2007 waist-circumference reference used measurements from 1997 and 2005, when childhood obesity had already increased. Neither that passage nor the passages found by searching for exclusion and severe obesity state whether children and adolescents with severe obesity were excluded from the reference. (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The 2007 Korean National Growth Charts WC reference did not adopt standardized measurements of WC.

    “The currently used WC reference, which was published in the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts, has several drawbacks; specifically, its development did not adopt standardized measurements of WC, only included several percentile values, presented no graphical charts, and did not exclude children and adolescents with severe obesity.18,19”

    From Reference Values for Waist Circumference and Waist–Height Ratio in Korean Children and Adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Results section compares WC values with the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts, and the Discussion describes the charts’ underlying measurement years, but neither addresses whether their WC measurements were standardized. The measurement protocol in Materials and Methods describes this paper’s own data, not how the 2007 reference was developed (searched: standardized WC measurements, 2007 reference measurement protocol). (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 31

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Authors
Kim, M. S., Kim, S. Y., & Kim, J. H.
Affiliations
  • Bundang Jesaeng Hospital (KR)
  • Seoul National University (KR)
Corresponding author
Kim, Jae Hyun
ORCID
Venue
Korean Journal of Pediatrics
Publisher
Korean Pediatric Society
Published
2019-07-15
Volume
62
Issue
7
Pages
261-268
ISSN
  • 1738-1061 (ISSN-L)
  • 2092-7258
DOI
10.3345/kjp.2018.07038
PMC
PMC6642921
OpenAlex
W2902808064
Cited by
14
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1
FWCI
1.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Korean Journal of Pediatrics (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Body Composition Measurement Techniques
Keywords
waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, abdominal obesity, secular trends, children and adolescents, cut-off values, cardiometabolic risk, Korean adolescents, sex differences

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