Triceps skinfold thickness centile charts in primary school children in Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Triceps skinfold thickness charts of a random sample of 2,234 healthy school children (1,161 boys and 1,073 girls) in Shiraz, Iran are presented. Triceps skinfold thickness increases by age and is higher in girls than boys, except for upper extreme centiles. Triceps skinfold thickness may be used with reasonable success to detect childhood obesity, which would be of great importance in public health promotion. It favors adequacy and simplicity in screening for adiposity. The charts presented here are likely to be applied to urban population of school-aged children in Iran, however, it should be updated periodically.