BACKGROUND: Waist circumference (WC) is a good proxy measure of central adiposity. Due to the multiplicity of existing WC cut-offs and different measurement methods, the decision to use one rather than another WC chart may lead to different prevalence estimates of @entity1144 in the same population. Aim of our study was to assess how much the prevalence of @entity1144 varies in Italian schoolchildren using the different available WC cut-offs. METHODS: We measured WC at just above the uppermost lateral border of the right ilium in 1062 Italian schoolchildren aged 7-14 years, 499 living in Northern Italy and 563 in Southern Italy. @entity1144 was defined as WC >= 90th percentile for gender and age according to nine WC charts. RESULTS: We found an extremely high variability in the prevalence of @entity1144 detected in our study-populations according to the different WC charts, ranging in the overall group from 9.1% to 61.4%. In Northern Italy @entity1 it varied from 2.4% to 35.7%, and in Southern ones from 15.1% to 84.2%. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of the chosen WC cut-offs the prevalence of @entity1144 varies widely, because percentile-charts are strongly influenced by the population status in a particular moment. A further rate of variability may lay on the site of WC measurement and on the statistical method used to calculate WC cut-offs. Risk-weighted WC cut-offs measured in a standardized anatomic site and calculated by the appropriate method are needed to simply identify by WC measurement those @entity1 at high risk of cardio-metabolic complications to whom specific and prompt health interventions should be addressed.

High Discrepancy in Abdominal Obesity Prevalence According to Different Waist Circumference Cut-Offs and Measurement Methods in XXXX : Need for Age-Risk-Weighted Standardized Cut-Offs?

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children'] @entity1144 :: ('MESH:D056128', 'Disease') :: ['abdominal obesity', 'Abdominal obesity']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['Children']
