Dental caries experience in relation to body mass index and anthropometric measurements of rural children of Nellore district: A cross-sectional study

The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and dental caries consists of multiple contributing factors. There have been no studies documented in the literature in this part of rural India assessing the prevalence of dental caries in relation to BMI. Hence, an attempt was made to study dental caries in relation to BMI and anthropometric measurements.The aims were to study dental caries experience in relation to BMI and anthropometric measurements of rural children in Nellore district.A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Nellore city.A total of 1500 6- and 12-year-old children were examined. Dental caries was examined using the WHO dentition status criteria (1997) and 1-day diet chart was collected from each child followed by collection of anthropometric data.Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Spearman's correlation test.In the present study, out of all the participants, 59.2% of low weight children, 41.3% of normal weight children, and 25.7% of overweight-obese children were having dental caries. Dental caries was more among low weight children compared to normal weight and overweight-obese children and was statistically significant.All the anthropometric measurements were positively correlated with dental caries except height for age and BMI for age. There was an inverse graded association between the height for age and BMI for age with dental caries in 6- and 12-year-old children.