Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Biomédicas (Aug 1998)
Adiposidad: factor de riesgo aterosclerótico. Su estudio en el crecimiento y desarrollo del niño obeso
Abstract
Con el propósito de estudiar la obesidad en la niñez con fines pronósticos y preventivos, se investiga su influencia en el crecimiento y desarrollo utilizando métodos antropométricos. Estos métodos se interpretaron como de mayor utilidad para valorar la composición corporal según el estado nutricional que los métodos de peso para la talla, correlacionando la adiposidad (porcentaje de peso en grasa) con la estatura del niño obeso. Se estudiaron 174 niños obesos de uno y otro sexos con edades comprendidas entre 8 y 14 años, los cuales fueron seleccionados mediante un muestreo probabilístico, aleatorio simple, de zona urbana. Se tomó la talla, el peso y 5 pliegues de grasa subcutánea. El desarrollo sexual valorado según los estadios de Tanner se correspondió con la edad cronológica. La maduración ósea fue significativamente normal (p 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.
