ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE HAND GRIP STRENGTH AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK IN CHILEAN SCHOOLCHILDREN: ANALYSIS BY SEX

Muscle strength is considered an important predictor of functionality and health in schoolchildren. Higher levels of strength are inversely correlated with the risk of contracting cardiometabolic diseases from the early stages. The objective of the present study was to compare and correlate the relative and absolute strength of the hand grip with anthropometric measurements of cardiometabolic risk among Chilean boys and girls. Cross-sectional study, with a sample made up of 139 primary school students, age 8,7 (+/- 2,7 years) belonging to two educational centers in the Metropolitan Region, Chile. The anthropometric measurements considered cardiometabolic risk markers used were: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-height ratio (WHtR). Absolute strength was measured using a hand dynamometer and relative strength was calculated according to body weight. When making comparisons between both genders, results showed significant differences (p <= 0,05) in favor of boys in the absolute and relative strength levels. A greater correlation was found between relative rather than absolute hand grip strength with the cardiometabolic risk markers in both sexes, this relationship being more noticeable in girls than boys. Relative hand grip strength is mainly correlated with cardiometabolic risk than absolute hand grip strength in Chilean schoolchildren.