Large Clothing Size in Children Is Associated with High Body Mass Index and Clustering of Medical Comorbidities

Background. Since most people are aware of their clothing size (CS), this prospective study explored the potential utility of CS as a proxy for body size and as a predictor of incident obesity-related health conditions in children. Methods. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study of 725 children aged 6-18 yr. We collected clinical, anthropometric, and sartorial data on all study subjects. Parents reported their children's usual CS. This was compared with US clothing chart for children. Based on this we determined whether a child's CS was appropriate or large for age. Results. The prevalence of overweight/obese was 31.4%. Among the study subjects, 36% usually wore large CS. Children who wore large CS were more likely to be overweight/obese compared to those in the normal CS group (OR = 5.6; 95% CI = 4.0-8.0, P < 0.001). Similarly, large CS was associated with higher rates of incident asthma (P = 0.003), obstructive sleep apnea (P = 0.01), habitual snoring (P = 0.02), and elevated preoperative blood pressure (P = 0.03). Conclusion. CS in children is associated with higher indices of adiposity and increased rates of obesity-related comorbidities.