Abstract

BOSCH SALADO, Celia; PINEIRO LAMAS, Regino; CARBALLO MARTINEZ, Rosario  and  FERNANDEZ-BRITTO RODRIGUEZ, José E. Adiposidad: factor de riesgo aterosclerótico. Su estudio en el crecimiento y desarrollo del niño obeso. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 1998, vol.17, n.2, pp. 165-172. ISSN 1561-3011.

With the purpose of studying childhood obesity from the preventive and predictive viewpoints, the impact of adiposity on the growth and development of the obese child is researched using anthropometric methods. These methods were considered more useful than the weight by height methods in assessing the body composition according to the nutritional condition since they relate the adiposity (percentage of body weight composed of fat) to the obese child height. 174 male and female obese children aged 8 to 14 years were examined, who were assigned by a simple randomized probability sampling in an urban area. Height, weight and 5 subcutaneous folds were taken for the study. The assessed sexual development matched the chronological age according to Tanner stages. The bone maturation was significantly normal in 34 patients (p < 0.01). Girls with a higher percentage of body weight composed of fat (p < 0.05) were taller whereas boys did not show any significant difference (p < 0.28). When the test of median was carried out, the percentage of boys who were above the expected value (50th percentile) was not significant in 13-14 age group; neither was it significant in 11-12 years-old girls (significance level, 5 %). In the main, the statistical analysis suggests that not only the intensity factor of body weight percentage composed of fat positively affects the obese children height.

Keywords : ATHEROSCLEROSIS [pathology]; OBESITY; RISK FACTORS; ADIPOSE TISSUE; BODY HEIGHT; BODY WEIGHT; SKINFOLD THICKNESS; CHILD; SEX MATURATION.

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