An Examination of Thinness and Overweight in Children Using W.H.O. BMI Categories before and after Intestinal Parasite Intervention

Claris Smith^1, , Renee Owusu-Ansah² and William Sorensen¹

¹University of Texas at Tyler, Department of Health and Kinesiology

²Victoria, Texas Office of Emergency Management

Cite this paper

Claris Smith, Renee Owusu-Ansah and William Sorensen. An Examination of Thinness and Overweight in Children Using W.H.O. BMI Categories before and after Intestinal Parasite Intervention. American Journal of Public Health Research. 2015; 3(3):91-94. doi: 10.12691/AJPHR-3-3-2

Abstract

This study is a secondary analysis to identify the effects of as oil transmitted helminth treatment campaign on growth in Guatemalan children, and to identify other factors associated with change in BMI. One thousand children were recruited through schools, pre and post BMI was calculated from height and weight measures with a helminth treatment campaign as the timeframe. BMI was categorized into WHO standard categories, and collapsed into binary risk variables (extreme thin vs. all others, and extreme overweight vs. all others). From this, predictors of BMI change were identified. Older age predicted thinness. Younger age and rural residence predicted overweight. Helminth treatment had no effect on BMI growth. East Guatemalan children progress toward thinness naturally. Caution is urged in using BMI as the sole tool for measuring growth in children.

Keywords

BMI Standards, children, Guatemala, Helminth Intervention

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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