Background: In Japan, waist circumference (WC) percentiles to screen for childhood metabolic syndrome (MetS) are unavailable. The objectives of this study were to develop WC and WC-to-height ratio (WC/Ht) percentile curves by age and sex for Japanese children, and to test their utility in screening for MetS in children with obesity who are otherwise healthy.
Methods: The WC and WC/Ht percentiles were developed using the LMS method of summarizing growth standards, which monitors changing skewness (L), medians (M), and coefficients of variation (S) in childhood distributions. A representative dataset was used, which consisted of 3,634 boys and 3,536 girls aged 4.5-12.75 years in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, between 2010 and 2012. Children who were obese (355 boys and 230 girls) aged 6-12 years from Osaka prefecture, Japan, were screened for childhood MetS using the new percentiles and the International Diabetes Federation's (IDF's) definition of MetS.
Results: The number of participants with certain metabolic abnormalities (high systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a high level of triglycerides) was significantly higher in boys aged 10-12 years, with a WC ≥ 90th percentile, than among those with a WC < 90th percentile. None of the participants with a WC < 90th percentile exhibited two or more metabolic abnormalities, regardless of their age or sex. Among the participants aged 10-12 years, 11.4 % of boys and 4.4 % of girls with a WC ≥ 90th percentile were diagnosed with MetS.
Conclusions: The new percentiles may have a certain level of potential to screen Japanese children for childhood MetS in accordance with the IDF definition.