Tri-Ponderal Mass Index: A Screening Tool for Risk of Central Fat Accumulation in Brazilian Preschool Children

Background and Objectives: To verify the use of the tri-ponderalmass index (TMI) as a screening tool for risk of central fat accumulation in preschool children. Materials and Methods: An observational, analytical study was carried out on samples from children 2 to 5 years of age. The body mass index (BMI) and the tri-ponderalmass index (TMI: Weight/height3) were calculated. The waist circumference-to-height ratio (WHtR) was used to classify central fat accumulation risk. Preschoolers whose WHtR was in the upper tertile of the sample were classified as at risk for central fat accumulation. A comparison of the two indicators (BMI and TMI) was made from the area under the receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) in the discrimination of the WHtR. Results: The sample used for analysis was 919 preschoolers. The mean age of the children was 3.9 years (SD = 0.7). The difference in AUC was 5% higher for TMI (p < 0.0001). In the individual analysis of the ROC curve of the TMI, favoring a higher sensitivity, the cutoff point of 14.0 kg/m(3) showed a sensitivity of 99.3% (95% CI: 97.6-99.9). Conclusion: Considering WHtR as a marker of possible future metabolic risk among preschool children, TMI proved to be a useful tool, superior to BMI, in screening for risk of central fat accumulation in preschool children.