OBJECTIVETo understand the distributions of waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in Han and Uygur ethnic children aged 3-9 years in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) and discuss their values in obesity screening in children.

METHODSStratified cluster random sampling was conducted to select Han and Uygur ethnic children from kindergartens and primary schools in four areas of Xinjiang in April 2014. The children's standing height, body weight and waist circumference were measured by trained investigators according to standard protocol. WC>or=P80 and WHtR>or=0.48 were used as the cutoff value for abdominal obesity screening in children with normal BMI. The association between overweight/obese prevalence rate and obesity related indicators, such as BMI, WC, WHtR, were analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 4024 Han and Uygur ethnic children were investigated, in which 2461 were in Han ethnic group, 1563 were in Uygur ethnic group. The WC and WHtR at P50 and P80 were differed significantly. In both Han and Uygur ethnic groups, there were some children with WC>or=P80 or WHtR>or=0.48, although they had normal BMI. This proportion decreased with age.

CONCLUSIONSThe WC and WHtR are similar in Han and Uygur ethnic children aged 3-9 years. WC and WHtR have values in obesity screening for children with normal BMI which suggested to use it as the supplementation of BMI in obesity screening in preschool aged children.

Body Height ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Ethnic Groups ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Overweight ; ethnology ; Pediatric Obesity ; ethnology ; Prevalence ; Schools ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Height Ratio

Objective: To analyze the relationship between family-related factors and the status of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 6-17 years in China. Methods: Data were collected from the China National Nutrition and Health Surveillance in 2010-2012 program. A sample of 6 343 subjects aged 6-17 years was selected, with matched weight, education levels, household income and other family related factors of their parents. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to explore the relationship between family factors and overweight and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents. Results: After adjusted for age, gender and region, results from the multivariate logistic regression showed that both the overweight and obesity of children and adolescents were associated with maternal BMI (OR=1.83, 95%CI: 1.63-2.05), paternal BMI (OR=1.74, 95%CI: 1.57-1.94), mother's educational level (OR=1.24, 95%CI: 1.12-1.37) and household income (OR=1.30, 95%CI: 1.15-1.46). Conclusion: Factors as overweight or obesity status of the parents, mother's educational level and household income were positively correlated with the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Chinese children and adolescents.
Adolescent ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Family/psychology* ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity/psychology* ; Overweight/psychology* ; Parent-Child Relations ; Parents ; Pediatric Obesity/ethnology* ; Prevalence ; Schools