Waist: Anthropometric Assessment of Abdominal Obesity and Health Risk in Children and Adolescents

Sponsor

Pennington Biomedical Research Center (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT01595100

Collaborator

(none)

423

Enrollment

Location

Duration (Months)

22.3

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Childhood obesity is a major public health issue, and the identification of children who are at increased risk of health problems due to their obesity is a priority for modern health care. Abdominal fat is considered to be the most harmful in the body, and the development of reliable landmarks and procedures for the assessment of intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue and total body fat in children will have a major impact on 1) the early identification of children at elevated health risk, 2) the proper prioritization of health care resources, and 3) the standardization of obesity surveillance procedures within and between countries.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Obesity

Detailed Description

Abdominal fat, in particular intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue, is considered to be the most dyslipidemic and atherogenic fat depot in the human body. Intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue and total body fat can be measured precisely and reliably in a laboratory setting using advanced imaging techniques; however, reliable clinical measurements of pediatric intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue and total body fat are yet to be developed. Thus, the specific aims of this study are to 1) identify reliable landmarks and methodology for the measurement of pediatric waist circumference that are associated with intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue and total body fat across the pediatric age, total body adiposity, and maturity range among African American and Caucasian children and adolescents, 2) determine if waist circumference in combination with other anthropometric indices is a better predictor of intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue and total body fat than waist circumference alone across the pediatric age, total body adiposity, and maturation range, and 3) develop and determine the clinical utility of pediatric race-sex-specific waist circumference thresholds for the identification of elevated chronic disease risk factors across the pediatric age, total body adiposity, and maturation range. The investigators will accomplish these aims by conducting a cross-sectional study of 100 African American boys, 100 Caucasian boys, 100 African American girls, and 100 Caucasian girls 5 to 18 years of age. Waist circumference will be measured at the four common anatomic sites used in pediatric research: 1) superior border of the iliac crest, 2) midpoint between the iliac crest and the lowest rib, 3) umbilicus, and 4) minimal waist. Additional body dimensions will be obtained in order to determine the clinical utility of combining waist circumference with other measurements in predicting intra-abdominal visceral adipose tissue and total body fat, which will be assessed using advanced imaging techniques. The identification of the most appropriate waist circumference landmarks and measurement techniques is important for the clinical identification of children at elevated obesity-related health risk and for the standardization of obesity surveillance strategies within and between countries.

Study Design

Study Type:

Observational

Actual Enrollment :

423 participants

Observational Model:

Cohort

Time Perspective:

Cross-Sectional

Official Title:

Anthropometric Assessment of Abdominal Obesity and Health Risk in Children and Adolescents

Study Start Date :

Jan 1, 2010

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Aug 1, 2011

Actual Study Completion Date :

Aug 1, 2011

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

5 Years to 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Being between the ages of 5 and 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

Being unwilling or unable to communicate with study staff or provide informed consent
Having a chronic medical condition or disease that is life threatening or would interfere with the measurements in this study
Being pregnant