Childhood overweight and obesity defined by BMI

In 2000, BMI Cut off points for overweight and obesity for children aged 2- to 18-years-old have been defined for the first time. These cutoff points are linked to the adult BMI’s of 25 and 30.

Childhood overweight and obesity previously defined as 85th and 95th percentile

Previously, overweight and obesity was defined in children as the 85th and 95th percentile for a given age and sex, however these numbers were criticized for being arbitrary.

Overweight among 18-year-olds: 18% of males, 17% of females; obesity: 3% of males, 4% of females

Using these new definitions the prevalence of overweight in the U.S. at the age of eighteen-years-old is 18.1 percent of males and 16.5 percent of females, while obesity occurs in 3.3 percent of males and 4 percent of females.

Overweight and obesity rates roughly the same among 2-18 year-olds

The prevalence in children ages two to eighteen is thought to be roughly the same.

The tables were generated from available data following a proposal at a meeting of the International Obesity Task Force in 1997.

Tables generated from 6 large national studies

Data used to generate these tables were obtained from six large nationally representative cross sectional growth studies from Brazil, Great Britain, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States.

Tables generated from 97,000 males, 94,000 females

The surveys included 97,876 males and 94,851 females from birth to 25 years of age.

Percent bodyfat prefered, but impractical

The paper noted that the ideal definition of overweight and obesity are based on percent body fat, however it is impractical to use for large population studies.

REFERENCE

Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. Bmj, 2000 May 6; 320 (7244): 1240-3.

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Childhood Obesity