Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 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

26.7K

At risk or not: comparing normative and criterion-referenced body mass index standards among Mexican American

F de Heer, O Morera, M Warren

    Archivos Latinoamericanos De Nutricion
    |June 18, 2014
    PubMed

    Insights

    Different Body Mass Index (BMI) standards for children show varying obesity rates. World Health Organization (WHO) standards closely align with FitnessGram criterion-referenced standards, unlike CDC and IOTF classifications.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric health
    • Obesity research
    • Biostatistics

    Background:

    • Childhood obesity is often assessed using Body Mass Index (BMI) normative standards (e.g., WHO, CDC, IOTF).
    • Criterion-referenced standards (FitnessGram) directly link BMI to health outcomes.
    • Discrepancies exist in how different BMI classification systems identify at-risk children.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To compare the agreement between normative and criterion-referenced BMI standards in children.
    • To evaluate how different standards classify overweight and obesity in Mexican American children.
    • To assess the impact of different standards on tracking weight status changes.

    Main Methods:

    • Compared BMI classifications using FitnessGram (criterion-referenced) against WHO, CDC, and IOTF (normative) standards.
    • Analyzed baseline and follow-up data from 653 Mexican American children (3rd-5th grade).
    • Used kappa statistics to measure agreement between classification systems.

    Main Results:

    • FitnessGram identified 53.0% of children as overweight/obese at baseline.
    • IOTF and CDC standards classified 15% fewer children as high-risk compared to FitnessGram.
    • WHO standards showed high agreement with FitnessGram (kappa=.925), significantly higher than CDC (kappa=0.722) and IOTF (kappa=.682).
    • Improvement rates varied: FitnessGram (8.9%), WHO/CDC (8.6%), IOTF (6.5%).

    Conclusions:

    • Normative BMI standards, particularly CDC and IOTF, may underestimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.
    • WHO standards demonstrate better agreement with criterion-referenced FitnessGram standards.
    • Accurate classification is crucial for identifying children needing intervention for BMI-related health risks.

    More Related Videos

    Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts07:56

    Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts

    Published on: January 29, 2018

    17.5K
    Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil06:48

    Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil

    Published on: July 29, 2020

    4.4K

    Related Concept Videos

    Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison01:27

    Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison

    Social comparison plays a fundamental role in the evaluation of personal success and self-worth. Rather than assessing our achievements in isolation, we interpret their significance relative to personal goals and critically in comparison to the performance of others. A grade of B in a mathematics exam might elicit pride if one's expectation was a C, yet result in disappointment if an A was anticipated or if peers achieved superior results. These comparative evaluations illustrate how both...
    388
    Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience01:18

    Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience

    Self-esteem, a crucial component of psychological development, is significantly shaped by familial experiences. The early parent-child relationship serves as a foundational influence on a child's self-concept, with long-lasting effects extending into adolescence and adulthood.Parental Behaviors and Early Self-Esteem FormationEmpirical studies have identified four principal parental behaviors that foster healthy self-esteem in children. These include expressions of acceptance, affection, and...
    258
    Regression Toward the Mean01:52

    Regression Toward the Mean

    Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
    6.3K
    One-Way ANOVA: Unequal Sample Sizes01:15

    One-Way ANOVA: Unequal Sample Sizes

    One-way ANOVA can be performed on three or more samples of unequal sizes. However, calculations get complicated when sample sizes are not always the same. So, while performing ANOVA with unequal samples size, the following equation is used:
    5.8K
    Anorexia Nervosa01:28

    Anorexia Nervosa

    Anorexia nervosa is a complex and severe eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of weight gain, an unrelenting pursuit of thinness, and a distorted body image. It often leads to dangerously low body weight relative to an individual's age and height. This disorder is marked by significant physical and psychological consequences, making it one of the most life-threatening psychiatric illnesses.
    Symptoms and Physical Effects
    Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
    2.0K
    One-Way ANOVA: Equal Sample Sizes01:15

    One-Way ANOVA: Equal Sample Sizes

    One-Way ANOVA can be performed on three or more samples with equal or unequal sample sizes. When one-way ANOVA is performed on two datasets with samples of equal sizes, it can be easily observed that the computed F statistic is highly sensitive to the sample mean.
    Different sample means can result in different values for the variance estimate: variance between samples. This is because the variance between samples is calculated as the product of the sample size and the variance between the...
    3.2K