Association of Body Mass Index (BMI) on Complete Blood Count (CBC) Parameters Among 2 to 15-year-old Obese and Non-Obese Children

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic health problem that can initiate at a young age and is proven challenging by the risk factors’ complexity. Overall, it is considered as one of the major global concerns as the prevalence of obesity increases in a worldwide aspect. However, in the Philippine setting, there was a lack of obesity-related studies involving pediatric patients, as research investigations mostly involved adults. Hence, this study is aimed to provide more information concerning obesity among children using Body Mass Index (BMI) as a tool for further analysis, and also establish better understanding on how the BMI of obese and non-obese children, aged 2-15 years old, were associated with the various Complete Blood Count (CBC) parameters. With a total of 360 respondents, the research employed a quantitative research method with a descriptive, correlational design where secondary data retrieval was done in a local pediatric hospital in Ormoc City, Leyte. The main findings from various statistical tools analyzed in R ver. 4.0.3 are as follows: (1) The age and sex are not significantly associated to the BMI of the obese and non-obese children; (2) Generally, only RBC count, MID, and hematocrit are significantly associated with the obesity of children being higher by 0.20x10¹²/L, 0.31x10⁹/L and 1.67%, respectively; and (3) The results for the three groups of non-obese children showed that the hemoglobin is lower, while the hematocrit is higher in underweight as compared to those classified as normal and overweight. In conclusion, there is a significant association of BMI on CBC parameters among obese and non-obese children, thus body coposition must be considered alongside with the child's hematologic parameters assessment to establish appropriate preventive measures and mitigation on health protocols of children, which may prevent further complications in adulthood.