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Proposed standard definition for child overweight and obesity
J Vignerová1, L Lhotská, P Bláha
1National Institute of Public Health, Srobárova 48, 100 42 Prague 10, Czech Republic.
Insights
Childhood obesity is a growing global concern. Current international Body Mass Index (BMI) standards for children may underestimate obesity rates in some countries, necessitating broader expert consensus for accurate assessment.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Childhood obesity presents a significant public health challenge in developed nations.
- Accurate assessment of overweight and obesity in children requires standardized definitions.
- Existing international Body Mass Index (BMI) standards have limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of internationally accepted BMI standards on childhood obesity prevalence.
- To compare current international BMI percentiles with national reference data.
- To highlight the need for revised international standards based on broader consensus.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Body Mass Index (BMI) data in pediatric populations.
- Comparison of international BMI percentile standards (e.g., Cole et al.) with existing national reference data.
- Assessment of the potential underestimation of obesity rates using current international standards.
Main Results:
- International BMI standards, such as those by Cole et al., may differ significantly from national data (e.g., Czech Republic 1991 reference data).
- These international standards can lead to a lower reported prevalence of childhood obesity compared to national data.
- The assumptions underlying the international standards (e.g., 10% BMI > 25 in 18-year-olds) may not universally apply.
Conclusions:
- Current internationally accepted BMI standards for children may not accurately reflect obesity prevalence in all regions.
- A broader professional discussion and a wider evidence base are required for developing more universally applicable international standards.
- Refining BMI assessment criteria is crucial for effective childhood obesity interventions.
Abstract:
The prevalence of obesity in child population is becoming a serious problem in all advanced countries. Therefore many authors try to find a definition according to which it would be possible to assess overweight and obesity in examined subjects in a simple manner. The simplest way is to plot the subject's data in a percentile zone of reference data according to his BMI value. The problem is dealt with e.g. by Cole et al. (1) who defined internationally acceptable standards of BMI for children and adolescents from 0-18 years. These standards are, however, based only on six national studies and on the assumption that in the population of 18-year-olds there are 10% subjects with BMI values above 25 and 3% subjects with values above 30. The suggested standards thus raise the level of the 90th and 97th percentile, as compared with BMI reference data of 1991 which are used in the Czech Republic. Therefore the ratio of obese children in the Czech Republic and in many other countries would be very small. Internationally acceptable standards should be therefore based on a broader discussion of the professional public.