BACKGROUND: Body Mass Index (BMI) is often used as a surrogate estimate of body fat in epidemiological studies. This study explores the association between BMI, body fat and body fat distribution assessed by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) in younger children. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 246 children (138 boys and 108 girls) aged 8-11 years. DXA was used to quantify abdominal fat mass (AFM), total body fat (TBF) and also total body fat as percentage of total body mass (BF%). Body fat distribution was calculated as AFM/TBF. RESULTS: We found close correlations between BMI vs. TBF, BF% and AFM (r = 0.94, r = 0.92 and r = 0.93) for boys and (r = 0.95, r = 0.92 and r = 0.95) for girls, respectively (P