OBJECTIVE: To establish a correlation between waist circumference and Body Mass Index (BMI) and to determine overweight and fat distribution in children from public schools in Fortaleza - CE. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 12 public schools in the city of Fortaleza-CE. The participants were 727 children of both genders, aged 6-11 years. Data collection occurred from March to June 2008. RESULTS: The survey results showed that, according to BMI, 11.4% of children were overweight, 6.6% were obese and 30.9% had central obesity. CONCLUSION: Not all obese children had central obesity, showing that only one anthropometric measure is not effective in determining the pattern of fat in childhood.
Anthropometry; Overweight; Child; Obesity; Body mass index
