BMI and hyperinsulinemia in children.

Abstract Objectives Overweight is associated with hyperinsulinemia in adults and children. The aim of our study was to test if body mass index (BMI) alone or in combination with waist circumference (WC) predicts hyperinsulinemia in individual children. Methods In 466 healthy German schoolchildren aged 7 to 12 years enrolled in the population based PEP Family Heart Study, anthropometric data, standard laboratory data and fasting serum insulin concentrations were assessed. Results Among children with hyperinsulinemia (fasting serum insulin concentrations  > 85th age specific percentile), 56% were not overweight (BMI-for-age     85th percentile) was not a better predictor of hyperinsulinemia, neither alone nor in combination with BMI. Conclusion Overweight and abdominal obesity are poor indicators of hyperinsulinemia in individual German school children aged 7 to 12 years. Insulin measurement seems to be necessary to reliably detect hyperinsulinemia.