The relationship between weight-height indices and the triceps skinfold measure among children age 5 to 12.

Abstract

This study examines several weight for height indices--Quetelet's index W/H2, W/H, and Rohrer's index W/H3--for their appropriateness in estimating adiposity among young children. Data were obtained for a sample of 1,668 children age 5-12 residing in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Although W/H2 was found to be the most useful of these indices, the results suggest that no index, including the tricep skinfold measure, can be considered completely satisfactory in estimating adiposity among children.