Abstract

Background: The prevalence of pediatric obesity is increasing rapidly, worldwide and emerging as a major risk factor for several chronic diseases. Body mass index (BMI) does not distinguish between increased mass in the form of fat, lean tissue or bone. Since the pathology and morbidity associated with obesity is driven by excess fat mass, the ideal monitoring tool should directly assess adiposity. Assessment of body fat percentage (BFP) is one of the methods to assess adiposity. Objectives: To assess the BFP of school age children and to compare the same across different ages and sexes.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the rural field practice area of a medical college in Bengaluru from June 2013 to November 2014. All schools in the rural field practice area of the medical college were included and children in the age group of 10-15 years were the study subjects. BFP of children was assessed by bioelectric impedance analysis technique.
Results: 48.4% had normal BFP, 32.1% low, 13.6% slightly high and 5.9% very high BFP. Mean BFP among males and females were 17.13 and 19.32, respectively. There was a strong positive correlation between BMI and BFP (r = +0.822).
Conclusions: Majority of the children fell into normal BFP category, females had a higher mean BFP when compared to males, and there was a strong positive correlation between BMI and BFP. BFP assessment may be used as a screening tool to detect the obese/overweight children and also children who are at risk for the same.