Cardiovascular Journal of Africa: Vol 30 No 6 (November/December 2019)

41 / 66

CARDIOVASCULAR JOURNAL OF AFRICA • Volume 30, No 6, November/December 2019 AFRICA 349
a positive significant correlation between BMI and triceps,
subscapular and abdominal skinfolds and the sum of skinfolds
(all reflect adiposity) (r = 0.237–0.446).
Table 3 shows Pearson correlation coefficients for body frame
and adiposity variables among Polokwane private school children
for age group eight to 10 years. There was a positive significant
correlation between sum of skinfolds (reflects adiposity) and
BMI (reflects adiposity), bi-acromial width, transverse chest,
anterior–posterior chest, bi-iliocristal width, and waist, chest and
gluteal girth, all of which reflect body frame (r = 0.155–0.453)
Table 4 shows Pearson correlation coefficients for body
frame and adiposity variables among Polokwane private school
children for age group 11 to 15 years. There were positive
significant correlations between BMI (reflects adiposity) and all
body frame measurements (height, bi-acromial width, transverse
chest, anterior–posterior chest, bi-iliocristal width, and waist,
chest and gluteal girth) (r = 0.172–0.703). There were also
positive significant correlations between the sum of skinfolds
(reflects adiposity) and all the above-mentioned body frame
measures (r = 0.114–0.603). BMI was also significantly and
positively correlated with the skinfolds and vice versa (both
reflect adiposity) (r = 0.345–0.571).
Discussion
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between
body frame size and adiposity among Polokwane private school
children. There was a positive significant correlation between
the sum of skinfolds (reflects adiposity) and transverse chest,
bi-iliocristal and bi-acromial width and anterior–posterior chest
(reflect body frame) among Polokwane private school children
in age group 11 to 15 years. A study by Teghan et al.3 among
urban and rural coloured South African school children aged
six to 20 years in the Western Cape Province also reported a
significant correlation between skeletal frame width and the
amount of adiposity. Both studies found significant correlations
between adiposity and certain variables of body frame, although
the significant body frame variables were not the same in the
two studies.
The current study found strong significant correlations of the
sum of skinfold thickness with chest girth and gluteal/hip girth (r
= 0.283–0.449) among children in all three age groups (age groups
five to seven, eight to 10 and 11 to 15 years). Similar results (r =
0.42–0.66) were reported by Henneberg and Ulijaszek16 among
middle-class adult Australian women. The findings from a study
by Argnani et al.17 suggested that chest girth is gender dependent,
Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficients for body frame and adiposity variables among
Polokwane private school children for age group five to seven years
Height BMI
Triceps
skinfold
Sub-
scapular
skinfold
Abdomi-
nal
skinfold
Sum
skinfolds
Bi-
acromial
width
A-P
chest
Trans-
verse
chest
Bi-
iliocristal
width
Waist
girth
Gluteal
girth
Chest
girth
Height 1 –0.303** –0.211* –0.094 –0.081 –0.173 0.499** 0.161** 0.362** 0.551** 0.200 0.328** 0.468**
BMI –0.340** 1 0.273** 0.292** 0.249* 0.339** 0.094 0.039 –0.070 –0.070 0.179 0.295** 0.271**
Triceps skinfold 0.25 0.339** 1 0.475** 0.423** 0.847** –0.046 –0.125 –0.109 –0.086 0.269* 0.223* 0.079
Subscapular skinfold –0.042 0.340** 0.709** 1 0.437** 0.758** 0.106 –0.051 0.018 –0.065 0.161 0.184 0.282**
Abdominal skinfold 0.193 0.237* 0.496** 0.555** 1 0.765** –0.021 –0.116 –0.015 –0.087 0.137 0.196 0.146
Sum skinfolds 0.081 0.355** 0.871** 0.858** 820** 1 0.003 –0.128 –0.056 –0.101 0.248* 0.256* 0.194
Bi-acromial width 0.755** –0.009 0.152 0.123 0.280* 0.225 1 0.187 0.475** 0.453** 0.210* 0.280** 0.530**
A-P chest depth 0.169 0.151 0.126 0.250* 0.328** 0.274* 0.434** 1 0.502** 0.446** 0.135 0.020 0.351**
Transverse chest 0.476** –0.049 –0.12 0.089 –0.003 0.021 0.528** 0.392** 1 0.651** 0.214* 0.133 0.471**
Bi-iliocristal width 0.363** –0.173 0.013 0.021 0.072 0.043 0.325** 0.434** 0.528** 1 0.307** 0.304** 0.433**
Waist girth 0.235* 0.356** 0.248* 0.409** 0.367** 0.393** 0.340** 0.430** 0.291* 0.247* 1 0.219* 0.480**
Gluteal girth 0.361** 0.438** 0.320** 0.475** 0.494** 0.499** 0.461** 0.445** 0.314** 0.244* 0.630** 1 0.387**
Chest girth 0.436** 0.446** 0.294* 0.397** 0.459** 0.449** 0.544** 0.426** 0.306** 0.288* 0.691** 0.695** 1
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.
Table 3. Pearson correlation coefficients for body frame and adiposity variables among
Polokwane private school children for age group eight to 10 years
Height BMI
Triceps
skinfold
Sub-
scapular
skinfold
Abdomi-
nal skin-
fold
Sum
skinfolds
Bi-
acromial
width
A-P
chest
Trans-
verse
chest
Bi-
iliocristal
width
Waist
girth
Gluteal
girth
Chest
girth
Height 1 –0.340** 0.025 –0.042 0.193 0.081 0.755** 0.169 0.476** 0.363** 0.235* 0.361** 0.436**
BMI 0.004 1 0.339** 0.340** 0.237* 0.355** –0.009 0.151 –0.049 –0.173 0.356** 0.438** 0.446**
Triceps skinfold 0.045 0.415** 1 0.709** 0.496** 0.871** 0.152 0.126 –0.012 0.013 0.248* 0.320** 0.294*
Subscapular skinfold 0.090 0.394** 0.546** 1 0.555** 0.858** 0.123 0.250* 0.089 0.021 0.409** 0.475** 0.397**
Abdominal skinfold 0.101 0.401** 0.568** 0.552* 1 0.820** 0.280* 0.328** -0.003 0.072 0.367** 0.494** 0.459**
Sum skinfolds 0.091 0.480** 0.867** 0.787** 0.855** 1 0.225 0.274 0.021 0.043 0.393** 0.499** 0.449**
Bi-acromial width 0.741** 0.149** 0.035 0.054 0.084 0.068 1 0.077 0.529** 0.0325** 0.340** 0.461** 0.544**
A-P chest 0.371** 0.181** 0.117* 0.057 0.195** 0.155** 0.267** 1 0.392** 0.434** 0.430** 0.445** 0.426**
Transverse chest 0.597** 0.192** 0.128* 0.176** 0.107* 0.157** 0.609** 0.316** 1 0.528** 0.291* 0.314** 0.306**
Bi-iliocristal width 0.630** 0.215** 0.115* 0.144** 0.141** 0.156** 0.556** 0.302** 0.549** 1 0.247* 0.244* 0.288*
Waist girth 0.432** 0.338** 0.282** 0.304** 0.280** 0.340** 0.403** 0.322** 0.477** 0.439** 1 0.630** 0.691**
Gluteal girth 0.654** 0.398** 0.387** 0.373** 0.382** 0.453** 0.539** 0.385** 0.522** 0.559** 0.561** 1 0.695**
Chest girth 0.616** 0.304** 0.204** 0.228** 0.282** 0.283** 0.608** 0.480** 0.605** 0.527** 0.647** 0.713** 1