Body mass index and screening for cardiovascular disease risk.

I read the recent report on body mass index and screening for cardiovascular disease risk with great interest (1). Bergmann and cols. concluded that “The BMI proposed in this study represents the more adequate alternative for screening school age children with increased chances of carrying DCV risk factors (1)”. Although I agree with this finding, I have some concerns about the study. First, the authors studied subjects aged between 7 to 12 years old, but refers to “infancy” in the title. Second, BMI is the result of nutritional factors and feeding habits. The concern on infancy feeding habits might be as or more important. Finally, other factors can be the risk factors and they should not be forgotten. Recently, Must and cols. proposed that “Although the classic obesity risk factors seem to play a role in the development of excess weight and fatness, some more recently identified potential factors, such as sleep, warrant further investigation in prospective studies before they are ready for evaluation using more controlled study designs (2)”.