The Relationships between Percent Body Fat and Other Anthropometric Nutritional Predictors among Male and Female Children in Nigeria.

The relationships between the percent body fat and other nutritional predictors were assessed among forty male and forty female children aged 2 - 10 years. Both sexes were age - matched. There was no significant difference in age between the two groups (P >0.001). A weak significant positive correlation was observed between the percent body fat and height - armspan ratio in female children (r = 0.300;P = 0.05). Height showed a high positive correlation with body's armspan in males (r = 0.916; P= 0.001) Body mass armspan (BMA) correlated positively and significantly with body mass index (BMI) in female (r = 0.922;P = 0.001). The corrected bone - free arm muscle area (AMA) gave positive values in females while two negative values of corrected AMA were observed in males. Mid - upper arm circumference (MUAC) appeared to be a more sensitive predictor of protein - energy malnutrition (PEM) in these children. The mean MUAC was 17.03cm in males and 17.0 cm in females, respectively. There was evidence of overweight and obesity in both children. The mid - arm muscle circumference (MAMC) gave mean value of 14.44 and 13.07 cm in males and females, respectively. The clinical significance of MUAC, MAMC and corrected AMA measurements are discussed.