Abstract

Childhood obesity remains a major public health problem worldwide, mainly affecting children in low- and middle-income countries. The present study was conducted to assess waist-to-height ratio in assessing cardiometabolic risk factors in school going children. Materials & Methods: 120 school going children of both genders were included. Anthropometry and blood pressure such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure was recorded. Based on anthropometry, BMI, WHtR was calculated and waist circumference was measured. Results: Out of 120 subjects, boys were 55 and girls were 65. There were 24 males and 31 females without CMR and 35 males and 30 females with CMR. The difference was non- significant (P> 0.05). Waist circumference in children without CMR was 34.4 and with CMR was 51.6. The mean waist- height ratio in children without CMR was 0.25 and with CMR was 0.51. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: It was found that waist to height ratio is a simple and efficient method that identifies the child with high cardiometabolic risk.

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