Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013 October, 231(2)
Low Birth Weight Is Associated with High Waist-to-Height Ratio in Japanese Elementary School Girls
KIYOMI HARADA,1,2 AYAKO SARUWATARI,1 KAORI KITAOKA,1,3 WATARU AOI,1 SAYORI WADA,1 TAKAYOSHI OHKUBO,4,5 KATSUYUKI MIURA,5 YOSHIYUKI WATANABE,6 TAKASHI KUSUNOKI7,8 and AKANE HIGASHI1
1Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
2School of Nursing, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
3Department of Health and Nutrition, Kyoto Koka Women's University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
4Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
5Department of Health Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Ohtsu, Shiga, Japan
6Department of Epidemiology for Community Health and Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
7Department of Pediatrics, Shiga Medical Center for Children, Moriyama, Shiga, Japan
8Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
In Japan, the rate of low birth weight infants has increased, due to an increase in the number of women who smoke or are lean. A recent study showed that low birth weight was associated with a high adult waist-to-height ratio in adult Japanese women, but little data is available concerning children. In this cross-sectional study with 568 subjects (276 boys and 292 girls), we examined the association between birth weight and waist-to-height ratio in 7- or 8-year-old Japanese children, all born at full term. The mothers of the subjects responded to a questionnaire about the weight of the children at birth, and physical data were collected from the results of measurements conducted at each school. We divided the subjects into two groups by the median of the birth weight (3,000 g) by sex to elucidate the effects of birth weight on the waist-to-height ratio. There were 119 boys and 164 girls and 157 boys and 128 girls in the < 3,000 g and ≥ 3,000 g birth weight groups, respectively. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the physical conditions in the two birth weight categories. Height was significantly lower in the birth weight < 3,000 g group among both the boys (P < 0.001) and girls (P < 0.001). The waist-to-height ratio was significantly higher in the < 3,000 g group in girls (P = 0.004), but not in the boys. Our results suggest that intrauterine environmental insults might have an effect on children, depending on sex.
keywords —— birth weight; elementary school children; girls; Japanese; waist-to-height ratio
© 2013 Tohoku University Medical Press
===============================
Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013, 231, 85-91
Correspondence: Kiyomi Harada, Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, 1-5, Hangi-cho, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan.
e-mail: s810731010@kpu.ac.jp