Gender differences in the relationship between percent body fat (%BF) and body mass index (BMI) in Japanese children

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether gender differences exist in the relationship between percent body fat (%BF) and body mass index (BMI) in Japanese children using a population-based cohort. Subjects are comprised of 187 boys and 163 girls aged 9–10, and 137 boys and 155 girls aged 12–13. Percent BF was measured using a bipedal biometrical impedance analysis (BIA) device. The relationship between %BF and BMI was investigated as a function of age and gender with Pearson's correlation coefficient. Strong linear relationships existed between %BF and BMI, especially in girls (9–10-year-old boys: r = 0.779, P < 0.0001; 9–10-year-old girls: r = 0.975, P < 0.0001; 12–13-year-old boys: r = 0.786, P < 0.0001; 12–13-year-old girls: r = 0.975, P < 0.000l). These results indicate that %BF can be predicted from BMI in Japanese children aged 9–10 and 12–13 years. The correlations in boys were not as strong as those observed in girls, that is, less variability was explained for girls than for boys. Further study will be necessary to ascertain whether the strong correlation seen among girls will be observed in different age or ethnic groups, and to ascertain the mechanism that produces this gender difference.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to all the study's participants and their parents. The authors also would like to thank all the members of the Board of Education in Ina-town in Saitama Prefecture, and the Ina-town Conference for the Promotion and Operation of Childhood Lifestyle-related Diseases Prevention Examination (Chairman: Dr. Michio Sato and Dr. Yoshihito Toriyama). This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.

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    According to our results, BMI was more selective in prediction of %BF in girls, whereas in boys the differences in %BF among underweight, normal weight and overweight individuals were not distinct until the 8th year of age. At the same time, correlation between %BF and BMI was stronger in girls, which corresponds to results reported by Schaefer et al. [11], Morimoto et al. [15] and Yoshinaga et al. [17]. Numerous studies emphasized that the accuracy of BMI as an indicator of fatness is strongly determined by the degree of fatness, thereby BMI proved better in children with higher body mass [11,18,19], as in the boys’ population in our study.

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