As many as a
quarter of obese children tested using the body mass index could be
missed putting them at risk of developing diabetes and heart disease,
scientists have warned.
While the BMI correctly identifies obese children it does not measure a child's percentage body fat.
The test, which uses a person's height and weight to determine whether they are obese, does not measure waist size.
The
larger a person's waist measurement, the more likely they are to suffer
obesity-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
It
is that failure of the test that has led scientists at the US's Mayo
Clinic to warn relying on BMI alone could mean large numbers of children
at risk of obesity-related disease could be missed under the radar.
Dr
Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, senior study author from the Mayo Clinic, in
Rochester, said: 'If we are using BMI to find out which children are
obese, it works if the BMI is high, but what about the children who have
a normal BMI but do have excess fat?
'Those parents may get a false sense of reassurance that they do not need to focus on a better weight for their children.'
In
the study, published in Paediatric Obesity, the researchers used 37
eligible studies that evaluated 53,521 patients, aged between four and
18.
It
is the first systematic review to assess the diagnostic performance of
BMI to identify excess body fat as compared with other techniques
considered as standard to measure obesity.
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Dr
Asma Javed, the study's first author, said: 'It is known that childhood
obesity can lead to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and
cardiovascular disease.
'Our
research raises the concern that we very well may be missing a large
group of children who potentially could be at risk for these diseases as
they get older.
'We hope our results shine a light on this issue for physicians, parents, public health officials and policymakers.'
While the BMI correctly identifies
obese children it does not measure a child's percentage body fat.The
test, which uses a person's height and weight to determine whether they
are obese, does not measure waist size. The larger a person's waist
measurement, the more likely they are to suffer obesity-related diseases
The findings of this study mirror results found in past research examining adults, carried out by Dr Lopez-Jimenez.
Over several years he and a team of researchers discovered what they call normal weight obesity.
It describes a situation where adults have a normal BMI but a large percentage of body fat.
Normal
weight obesity shares some of the same risks as obesity, including
pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular death.
He
said: 'The lesson is that we need additional research in children to
determine the potential impact of having high fat in the setting of
normal BMI to recognise this issue and perhaps justify the use of body
composition techniques to detect obesity at an early stage.'
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