Defining overweight and obesity among Greek children living in Thessaloniki: International versus local reference

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Updated: May 27, 2026

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

A Christoforidis1, M Dimitriadou, E Papadopolou

  • 11 Paediatric Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hippokratio Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Hippokratia
|November 24, 2011
PubMed

Insights

International Body Mass Index (BMI) references, such as the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) standards, identify more overweight and obese children than Greek national references. Early detection and intervention are crucial for child health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Anthropometry

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) is a key indicator for assessing weight status in children.
  • Accurate reference standards are essential for identifying overweight and obesity in pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the diagnostic accuracy of international BMI references (IOTF, CDC) against national Greek references for identifying overweight and obese children.
  • To evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Greek children using different BMI-for-age curves.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 1557 Greek children (mean age 11.42 years).
  • Weight and height were measured to calculate BMI.
  • Overweight and obesity were classified using International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Greek national BMI-for-age standards.

Main Results:

  • The IOTF standards identified a significantly higher prevalence of overweight (22.4%) compared to CDC (11.8%) and Greek (7.4%) references.
  • The CDC standards indicated a higher prevalence of obesity (13.9%) than IOTF (6.5%) and Greek (6.9%) references.
  • National Greek references underestimated the prevalence of both overweight and obesity.

Conclusions:

  • National Greek BMI references are insufficient for accurately detecting overweight and obesity in children.
  • International standards (IOTF and CDC) are recommended for earlier identification and intervention of pediatric overweight and obesity.
  • Adoption of international references can improve clinical practice for managing child weight issues.
Abstract

Keywords:
BMIGreekchildrenobesityoverweight

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