The aim of this study was to represent the trend of early menarche and to assess the association of age at menarche with anthropometric profiles of Korean children and adolescents. A cross sectional survey was conducted with 13,371 girls aged 10 to 18 yr, recruited nationwide from April, 2005 to March, 2006. Height, weight and waist circumference of the subjects were measured; and the subjects self-reported their ages at menarche. We found that the menarcheal girls were taller (P<0.05 for the girls between 10 and 14 yr) and heavier (P<0.05 for the girls between 10 and 18 yr) than non-menarcheal ones. Menarcheal girls also showed higher body mass index (BMI), and greater waist circumference than non-menarcheal ones. Significant differences were represented according to the age at menarche in terms of BMI, waist circumference, % body fat mass, waist hip ratio and neck circumference as well as height and weight (P<0.05). In conclusion, girls who matured early were taller and heavier in early adolescence than those who matured later.
Adolescent ; Body Fat Distribution ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; *Body Weights and Measures ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Menarche/*physiology ; Republic of Korea ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio

OBJECTIVETo analyze the differences in anthropometric measurements between Mongolia and Han girls and understand the characteristics of their physical development in two ethnic groups.

METHODSThe data on anthropometric measurements of Mongolia and Han girls aged 9-17 years in Inner Mongolia were obtained from the Chinese National Survey on Student's Constitution and Health (CNSSCH) in 2010, and the data included body height, sitting height, chest circumference, weight, triceps skinfold thickness (TST), scapular skinfold thickness (SST), abdominal skinfold thickness (AST), and having menarche or not. The girls were divided into two groups according to having menarche or not, and the differences in anthropometric measurements between Mongolia and Han girls were analyzed for the two groups, respectively.

RESULTSThe proportions of Mongolia girls (9-17 years) who have experienced menarche was higher than that of Han girls (67.6%,1 049/1 553) vs (62.9%,1 837/2 922) (χ² = 9.17, P = 0.002). In girls without menarche (9-14 years), sitting height, AST, and BMI in Mongolia girls was 0.5 cm, 1.6 mm, and 0.4 kg/m², respectively, which were higher than those in Han girls (all P < 0.05). In girls who have experienced menarche (11-17 years), height and SST in Han girls was 0.8 cm, and 1.0 mm, respectively, which were higher than those in Mongolia girls (all P values < 0.01); TST, AST and BMI in Mongolia girls were 0.9 mm, 2.9 mm, and 0.3 kg/m², respectively, which were higher than those in Han girls (all P values < 0.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONBody AST and BMI in Mongolia girls are higher than those in Han girls, while body height in Han girls is better than that in Mongolia girls after menarche. The differences of physical development between Mongolia girls and Han girls might be different before and after experiencing menarche.

Adolescent ; Anthropometry ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Body Weights and Measures ; Child ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Menarche ; Skinfold Thickness

This study was carried out to investigate among adolescents (total = 729) the relationship between their self-esteem, body-cathexis, their attitudes toward the importance of their bodies, their anthropometric characteristics, their perceptions of their body shapes and their experiences with weight control. The results are summarized as follows: The mean values for self-esteem and body-cathexis were generally low, but these values were significantly higher among boys than girls (p < 0.01 - 0.001). However the mean values for their attitudes toward the importance of their bodies were relatively high and were significantly higher among girls than boys (p < 0.01). The mean values for Percent Ideal Body Weight (PIBW) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were normal and no significant differences between the genders were observed. The distribution of the PIBW and the BMI values showed a higher rate for normal weights among the girlsand a higher rate for underweightedness and obesity among the boys (p < 0.01). With regard to their perception of their body image, among the boys, their current figures were almost identical with their idea of an ideal figure, but among the girls, their idea of an ideal figure was thinner than their current figure. The girls were more dissatisfied with their own body image than the boys (p < 0.001). Fifty-four percent of the subjects had previous weight control experience, and the girls had significantly more experience than the boys (p < 0.001). Their main reason for practising weight control was to lose weight (65.3%). Those who had more weight control experience had lower satisfaction with their body shapes, higher PIBW, higher BMIs or currently had fatter figures. Their standard image of their figures was influenced by TV (40.3%) and friends (36.9%). There was a weakly positive correlation between their self-esteem and their satisfaction with their body shapes, and a weakly negative correlation between their satisfaction with their body shapes and their attitudes toward the importance of their bodies. These results suggest the necessity for an educational program for adolescents as to foster a positive body image. Such a program should consider psychological factors such as selfesteem, satisfaction with body shape and attitudes toward the importance of the body
Adolescent* ; Body Image ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Friends ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Obesity ; Psychology ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin is an adipocytokine that is highly specific to adipose tissue. In contrast to other adipocytokine, the adiponectin levels are decreased in obesity and/or type 2 diabetes. There are few studies regarding the correlation between the adiponectin concentration and obesity in children. Thus, whether the serum adiponectin concentrations are associated with adiposity in children was investigated. METHODS: One hundred and sixty four subjects were selected from the participants in an ongoing study on the relationship between birth weight and insulin resistance in children. The current weights, heights, body fat percentages, waist circumferences, blood pressures, lipid profiles and insulin resistance, by the HOMA method, were measured in all the subjects. The serum adiponectin concentrations were determined by a validated sandwich ELISA, using a human adiponectin-specific antibody. RESULTS: The serum adiponectin concentration was negatively correlated with the body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, insulin resistance by HOMA and serum triglycerides, and positively correlated with the serum HDL cholesterol level. The serum adiponectin concentrations in the boys were significantly lower than in the girls. In a multiple regression analysis, the serum adiponectin concentration was strongly associated with waist circumference and gender. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that there was an inverse relationship between the serum adiponectin concentration and abdominal adiposity in children. However, further studies on independent gender differences on adiponectin are needed.
Adiponectin* ; Adipose Tissue ; Adiposity ; Birth Weight ; Blood Pressure ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Child* ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Obesity* ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference ; Weights and Measures

BACGROUND: In modern society, thin appearance is treated as ideal, making the majority of the normal weight group think that they are fat. Therefore, exercise and diet, numerous unhealthy methods were frequently chosen by normal weight group for weight control. The authors gave a definition of Ideal Body Weight and attempted to propose a new classification of obesity to the normal weight group who do not view themselves as they should. METHODS: The test subjects were 261 adults, who visited the IJUH Health Promotion Center between May 15, 2002 and June 30, 2002. After the subjects were measured anthropometric values such as height and weight, the self-recorded questionnaires including 12 questions were collected. The grades of somatotype drawing were 1~9 by BMI. The subjects chose 1 somatotype drawing that was thought to be obese man and woman. RESULTS: The data were collected from 261 subjects. For female somatotype drawing, 81.7% of the men and 49.1% of the women thought the drawings of normal weight were obese (P <0.001). For male somatotype drawing, 47.7% of the men and 29.3% of the women thought the drawings of normal weight were obese (P <0.01). For women's weights, 81.7% of the men and 82.1% of the women thought the normal weight was obese. For men's weights, 20.3% of the men and 23.6% of the women thought the normal weight was obese. Women thought the normal weight was obese more than in men. CONCLUSION: Women thought the normal weight was obese more than in men. Many men and women thought below the BMI 25 was obese.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Classification ; Diet ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Male ; Obesity* ; Somatotypes ; Weights and Measures ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of obesity on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) by age in relation to anthropometric measurements. METHODS: The medical records of 1,110 participants diagnosed with OSAS were analyzed according to age. All participants underwent nocturnal polysomnography and had their body mass index, waist circumference, neck circumference (NC), and waist-to-hip ratio measured. RESULTS: According to the multiple linear regression analysis model for the natural logarithm of the apnea-hypopnea index treating all four anthropometric measurements and gender as covariates, the final stepwise model accounted for an increasing percentage of the variability in the severity of OSAS as a function of age: 7.0, 9.1, 14.5, and 25.6% for those aged <30, 30–39, 40–49, and 50–59 yrs, respectively. It accounted for a decreased percentage among those 60–69 (20.3%) and 70 yrs or older (3.9%). The correlation between NC and the severity of OSAS linearly increased as a function of age for those aged 30–59 yrs, peaked among those in their 60s, and dramatically decreased thereafter. CONCLUSION: Middle-aged patients with OSAS were more likely to be obese, as measured by anthropometric measurements, than were younger or older OSAS patients. In particular, the predictive value of NC was significantly lower for younger and older OSAS patients.
Age Distribution ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weights and Measures ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Medical Records ; Neck ; Obesity* ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive* ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio

BACKGROUND: Most of all studies about the relation between the health risk and obesity are based on the European and American data. The purpose of this study is to examine the relation between adiposity and risk factors for cardio vacular disease (CVD) in normal weight individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Normal weight subjects with a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 23 kg/m2 (76 subjects) and overweight subjects with a BMI between 23 and 25 kg/m2 (53 subjects) were retained for this study. Normal weight subjects were divided into three group of each adiposity variable, then three group and the overweight group were evaluated for the presence of CVD risk factors and analyze the correlation coefficients between adiposity variables and risk factors controlled for age in normal weight, overweight groups. Using logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio (OR) for the prevalence of risk factors for each group of adiposity variables and the overweight group was estimated relative to the first group in normal weight subjects. RESULTS: Systolic BP, diastolic BP, LDL cholestrol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides in normal weight subjects were significantly correlated with all adiposity variables (P<0.01). Third group (3.7 for %fat and 4.7 for fat mass)of adiposity variables in the normal weight group and the overweight group (6.6 for %fat and 11.5 for fat mass) tended to have higher ORs compared to first group for risk factor variables. CONCLUSION: Normal weight subjects with elevated adiposity had higher prevalence of risk factors than normal weights subjects with less adiposity. Measuring of adiposity added additional information of cardiovascular disease risk factors in normal weight subjects.
Adiposity* ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight* ; Logistic Models ; Male* ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Overweight ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors* ; Triglycerides ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: As risk of hemorrhagic stroke may have early life origins, we investigated associations of birth weight and childhood body mass index (BMI) with adult intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS: We included 240,234 Danish schoolchildren, born 1936 to 1989, with information on birth weight and measured weights and heights from 7 to 13 years. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between early life anthropometrics and ICH or SAH, identified through linkage with national registers. RESULTS: During the study period, 1,947 individuals (39% women) experienced an ICH and 797 individuals (64% women) experienced a SAH. Per 500 g increase in birth weight, women had a 10% decreased risk of SAH (HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.97) and men had a 10% decreased risk of ICH (HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85 to 0.95). Birth weight was not associated with risks of ICH in women or SAH in men. In men, a childhood BMI below average (BMI z-score < 0) was associated with increased risks of ICH. The association was stronger at older childhood ages, and at 13 years a BMI z-score of –1 was associated with a HR of 1.17 (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.28), and a BMI z-score of –2 with a HR of 1.46 (95% CI, 1.17 to 1.82) for ICH. Childhood BMI was not associated with risks of ICH in women or with risks of SAH in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: Early life body size is associated with ICH and SAH, and the associations differ by sex.
Adult ; Birth Weight ; Body Mass Index ; Body Size ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Origin of Life ; Stroke ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVETo construct the body mass index (BMI) reference data and curves for Chinese children and adolescents from birth to 18 years of age.

METHODSData from two national representative cross-sectional surveys which were The National Growth Survey of Children under 7 years in the Nine Cities of China in 2005 and The Physical Fitness and Health Surveillance of Chinese School Students in 2005. Height (length was measured for children under 3 years) and weight data of 93,702 urban healthy children from nine cities/provinces used to calculate the BMI. The LMS method was used to smooth the BMI, with estimates of L, M, and S parameters, values of percentile and Z-score curves which were required were calculated, and then standardized growth charts were generated. Adult cut-offs for overweight and obesity at 18 years was used to study the cut-offs for children 2 to 18 years of age.

RESULTSThe smoothed percentiles and Z-scores reference data and curves of BMI-for-age for boys and girls aged 0-18 years were made out respectively. BMI cut-off values for overweight and obesity for children from 2 to 18 years of age were also defined. At 18 years, the BMI values are equivalent to the overweight cut-off (> or =24 kg/m2) and obesity cut-off (> or =28 kg/m2) for Chinese adults. Comparison with the reference of the WHO and 2000 CDC for the United States, there were some difference among them, at the 97th percentile curve there was a big difference between Chinese and U. S. adolescents. On the whole, the China BMI curve for boys was higher than the new WHO curve and lower than 2000 CDC at 97 percentile curve, but the China BMI curve for girls was lowest among the three curves. There was also significant difference between China and Japan BMI values at 97 percentile curve.

CONCLUSIONBMI growth curves are very useful in child growth monitoring and nutritional surveillance, discovering overweight and obesity. The BMI growth charts are recommended for use in pediatric clinic and public health service.

Adolescent ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Body Weights and Measures ; standards ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Obesity ; epidemiology

OBJECTIVETo construct the height and weight growth charts for Chinese children and adolescents from birth to 18 years for both clinical and preventive health care uses.

METHODSData from two national representative cross-sectional surveys which were The National Growth Survey of Children under 7 years in the Nine Cities of China in 2005 and The Physical Fitness and Health Surveillance of Chinese School Students in 2005. The data from 94,302 urban healthy children were used to set up the database of length/height (length was measured for children under 3 years) and weight. The LMS method was used to smooth the growth curves, with estimates of L, M, and S parameters, values of percentile and Z-score curves which were required were calculated, and then generated standardized growth charts.

RESULTSThe 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 97th smoothed percentiles curves and -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3 Z-scores curves of weight-for-age, length/height-for-age for boys and girls aged 0-18 years were made out respectively. Comparison with the new WHO growth charts and 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States, the results showed that there was some big difference in weight and height among the three growth charts. For boys under 15 years of age and girls under 13 years of age, the China curves are slightly higher than WHO and CDC curves, but after those ages, the China curves fall behind and the difference became larger as age progresses. At the age of 18 years, the Chinese children are 3.5 cm shorter in boys and 2.5 cm shorter in girls as compared with the U. S. children. The difference in weights are very large for the school children, especially in girls. The weight of Chinese boys was 5.9 kg less than that of the U. S. boys at 18 years, and the difference was much bigger in girls, the weight of U.S. girls between 8 to 18 years was 4.1-20.5 kg more than that of Chinese girls at the same age range.

CONCLUSIONThe new growth charts of height and weight were based on national survey data and therefore are recommended as the China national growth standards for use in pediatric clinics and public health service. Application of the charts will promote child growth monitoring, discovering early growth disorder, and will be useful to diagnosis of diseases and assessment of therapeutic effects.

Adolescent ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Body Weights and Measures ; standards ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Reference Standards