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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Obesity prevalence estimates in a Canadian regional population of preschool children using variant growth references

Laurie K Twells1, Leigh A Newhook

  • 1School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St, John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. ltwells@mun.ca

BMC Pediatrics
|March 2, 2011
PubMed

Insights

The prevalence of childhood obesity in Canada varies significantly based on the growth reference used. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reference identified a substantially higher obesity prevalence compared to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and World Health Organization (WHO) references.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Childhood obesity presents a significant public health challenge in Canada.
  • Accurate measurement is essential for understanding the burden of childhood obesity.
  • Preschool children are a key demographic for obesity surveillance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity in Canadian preschool children.
  • To evaluate the impact of different growth references on obesity classification.
  • To inform accurate public health strategies for childhood obesity.

Main Methods:

  • Weight and height measurements were collected from 1026 preschool children in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for each child.
  • Prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined using three distinct growth references: Centres for Disease Control (CDC), International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), and World Health Organization (WHO).

Main Results:

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) reference indicated a higher prevalence of overweight (26.7%) compared to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) (19.1%) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) (18.2%) references.
  • The CDC reference classified significantly more children as obese (16.6%) than the IOTF (8.3%) and WHO (11.3%) references.
  • There was considerable variability in agreement between the different growth references for classifying childhood obesity.

Conclusions:

  • The choice of growth reference significantly impacts the reported prevalence of childhood obesity.
  • The CDC reference identified a substantially higher prevalence of obesity in preschool children compared to IOTF and WHO.
  • These findings underscore the importance of selecting an appropriate growth reference for accurate obesity surveillance and intervention planning.
Abstract

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