Age Related Changes In Central Obesity Of School Children Of Kolkata Is Strongly Associated With Socio-Economic Status

Objectives: Childhood central obesity which is influenced by socio-economic status (SES), increases the risk of health problems in adulthood. Early detection of central obesity in school children of Kolkata may help to prevent health problems in later life. The present study aimed to measure the central obesity (CO) in school children of Kolkata and to find out the association between SES and waist circumference (WC)/hip circumference (HC)/waist to hip ratio (WHR). Methods: CO was determined anthropometrically from 845 school children of both sexes (5-12 yrs) of Kolkata. SES was measured by updated Kuppuswamy’s scale. Results: WC-for-age growth curves of boys (5-12 years) were located at 25th percentile values of US children and 50th percentile values of British and South Indian children. In girls the WC-for-age growth curves at lower ages (5-9 years) remained at lower percentile values of US, British and South Indian children but at higher ages (10-12 years) shifted to higher percentile values. Prevalence of CO was 17.68% in boys and 30.56% in girls. Grades of CO was significantly correlated with SES (p<0.001). WC, HC and WHR were significantly associated with SES, age and sex (p<0.001). Conclusion: Prevalence of CO in girls is higher than boys and associated with SES and the girls also showed a sudden increase in WC and HC at 10-12 years of age.