EVALUATION OF BODY SIZE IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN RURAL HOKKAIDO

Abstract

We collected anthropometric data (height and weight) and calculated the body mass index (BMI [kg/m2]) of 89 preschool children, aged 3 years (range, 36-47 months), who were living in a rural area of Hokkaido, in order to evaluate their growth and nutritional status. On average, the children had normal BMI; only 3% of children (n=3) or 1% of children (n=1) were classified as “obese” or “underweight”, respectively. The obesity screening methods used— “obesity rates” and “BMI percentile”—had 99% agreement (only 1 child was classified differently), suggesting that either method is accurate for the evaluation of overweight in preschool children.