Unfortunately, he says, there is no way to change how children, or adults for that matter, gain weight.

"There is a lot of discussion about the apple versus the pear body shape, with the pear being more desirable," Dr. Bassali says. "Unfortunately, we don't have a real explanation why some people gain weight in the center of their body and others gain it, for instance, in their thighs. It could be environmental. It could be genetic. It could be a combination of the two."

These results, however, could provide researchers and clinicians with another way to measure possible risk and possibly prevent future health complications.

"The gold standard, when it comes to intervention strategies, has always been whether a child fell into a certain range with their body mass index (calculated using height and weight)," he says. "These results suggest that waist circumference could provide an additional measurement of risk. The intervention strategies would be the same."

Source: Medical College of Georgia