Waist circumference and its correlation with height and weight among children aged 8-12 years in Jinan city

Objective To study the distribution of waist circum ference and its correlation with age,height,weight,and body mass index in children between 8 and 12 years in Jinan city.Methods We selected 6 schools by stratified random sampling.There were 1362 students aged 8-12 years in the survey.We measured waist circum ference,height and weight of the children.Results The waist circum ference and the ratio of waist to height of the boy swere significantly higher than that of the girls(P < 0.01).The waistcircum ference was positively correlated with age(r=0.366),height (r=0.599),weight (r=0.909),and body mass index (r=0.889) in the boys and positively correlated with age (r=0.376),height (r=0.560),weight(r=0.891),and body mass index (r=0.871) in the girls.The waist to height ratio was positively correlated with weight(r=0.718) and body mass index (r=0.868),but negatively correlated with height (r=0.226) in boys and was positively correlated with height(r=0.088),w eight(r=0.620),and body mass index (r=0.835) in girls.Conclusion Waistcircum ference is significantly higher in boys than that of in girls and correlates with age,height,weight,and body mass index.Waist to height ratio correlates with height,weight,and body mass index.