ABSTRACT
Objectives: To examine the utility of waist-to-height ratio to identify risk of high blood pressure when compared to body mass index and waist circumference in South Indian urban school children. Design: Secondary data analysis from a cross-sectional study. Settings: Urban schools around Bangalore, India. Participants: 1913 children (58.1% males) aged 6-16 years with no prior history of chronic illness (PEACH study). Methods: Height, weight, waist circumference and of blood pressure were measured. Children with blood pressure ≥90th percentile of age-, sex-, and height-adjusted standards were labelled as having high blood pressure. Results: 13.9% had a high waist-to-height ratio, 15.1% were overweight /obese and 21.7% had high waist circumference. High obesity indicators were associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure. The adjusted risk ratios (95% CI) of high systolic blood pressure with waist-to-height ratio, body mass index and waist circumference were 2.48 (1.76, 3.47), 2.59 (1.66, 4.04) and 2.38 (1.74, 3.26), respectively. Similar results were seen with high diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: Obesity indicators, especially waist-to-height ratio due to its ease of measurement, can be useful initial screening tools for risk of high blood pressure in urban Indian school children.