Artículos de revistas
Waist-to-height ratio and its association with TV viewing in a sample of Portuguese children aged 7–9 years
Fecha
2017-09-01Registro en:
American Journal of Human Biology, v. 29, n. 5, 2017.
1520-6300
1042-0533
10.1002/ajhb.23024
2-s2.0-85020386853
Autor
Research Centre for Anthropology and Health
University of Coimbra
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Universidade de Lisboa
Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Instituto Investigação Científica Tropical
Universidade de Coimbra
Institución
Resumen
INTRODUCTION: During the past decades, increased TV viewing and reduced physical activity (PA) levels may have contributed to the increased prevalence of pediatric obesity. This study aimed to analyze the association between TV viewing and central adiposity risk in Portuguese children. METHODS: The sample comprised 3987 children (1997 girls and 1990 boys) aged 7–9 years. Height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured. Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) was calculated as the ratio of waist/height with a cut-off of 0.5 used to define risk of abdominal obesity. WHtR does not depend on sex- or age-specific reference criteria. TV viewing and PA were assessed by questionnaire. Logistic regressions were used, with adjustments for age, PA, and parental education. RESULTS: This study revealed a positive significant association between central adiposity risk and sedentary behaviors in Portuguese boys. In addition, the final model showed an important inverse association between PA and the risk of abdominal obesity in both boys and girls (males: β = −0.01 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.00; females: β = −0.01; 95% CI, 0.99-1.00). CONCLUSION: Findings revealed that associations between TV viewing and obesity risk could be highly influenced by socioeconomic factors. Future research should extend a similar design to children in other geographic contexts, and incorporate other behavioral variables in the statistical models, to confirm or not some of the aforementioned findings.