Table 2.
Basic characteristics of the study subjects.
| Characteristics | Obese Children (n = 529) | Non-Obese Children (n = 498) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 11.7 ± 2.9 | 11.7 ± 2.9 | 0.85 |
| Gender (M/F) | 345/184 | 326/172 | 0.93 |
| BMI (Kg m−2) | 27.3 ± 4.2 | 17.6 ± 2.3 | <0.001 |
| BMI z-score | 2.71 ± 0.71 | −0.17 ± 0.88 | <0.001 |
| WHtR | 0.54 ± 0.06 | 0.41 ± 0.03 | <0.001 |
| WHR | 0.89 ± 0.08 | 0.81 ± 0.06 | <0.001 |
| WC (cm) | 82.8 ± 13.4 | 60.4 ± 8.1 | <0.001 |
| HC (cm) | 96.0 (82.0–102.0) | 75.0 (66.0–84.0) | <0.001 |
| Food preference (n, %) | <0.001 | ||
| Meat-based diet | 120 (23.5%) | 54 (11.0%) | |
| Balanced diet | 358 (70.1%) | 392 (79.7%) | |
| Vegetable-based diet | 33 (6.5%) | 46 (9.3%) | |
| Salt preference (n, %) | <0.001 | ||
| Like | 130 (25.8%) | 53 (10.8%) | |
| No strong preference/dislike | 374 (74.2%) | 439 (89.2%) | |
| Sweet taste (n, %) | 0.75 | ||
| Like | 319 (66.6%) | 327 (67.6%) | |
| No strong preference/dislike | 160 (33.4%) | 157 (32.4%) |
HC was expressed as median (lower quartile–upper quartile), and other variables were expressed as means ± SD; p-values were calculated by independent t-test for normally distributed continuous variables; Mann-U Whitney test for non-normally distributed variables and χ2 test for categorical variables comparing obese and non-obese subjects; BMI, body mass index; BMI z-score, BMI for sex and age z-score; WHtR, waist to height ratio; WHR, waist to hip ratio; WC, waist circumference; HC, hip circumference.