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Objective: To elaborate Mexican growth charts based on international methodology. Design: Data were obtained from the Mexican National Health Survey. The survey was stratified and probabilistic representative of all the country.Setting: Nationwide open population living in urban and rural areas. Subjects: Boys (8545) and girls (9983) from 10 to 18 years participating in the survey. Methods: Age, weight and height were recorded. Empirical percentiles were calculated and smoothed. Smoothed curves were approximated using least-mean square estimation. Results : Tables and figures for percentile values of weight, height and body mass index (BMI) for age, as well as percentile values of weight and BMI for height for both genders are presented. Regarding 50th BMI for age percentiles, Mexicans had higher levels than the Americans in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts; Mexicans were lower but had similar weights than the Americans. Owing to the high BMI, the percentile corresponding to an overweight level (25 kg/m 2 ) at 18 years was 74.5 in boys and 72.5 in girls, whereas obesity level (30 kg/m 2 ) at 18 years was 97.3 and 97.4 in boys and girls, respectively. Conclusions: The present growth charts are snapshots of a Mexican population. Because the high median BMI compared to US and World Health Organization standards, we must be cautious in establishing an upper normal cutoff for clinical normality, not merely selecting the 85th and 95th percentiles as equivalents of overweight and obesity, respectively. Therefore, we proposed percentiles 74.5 in boys and 72.5 in girls as the action points of overweight as they are the percentiles corresponding to BMI 25 kg/m 2 at 18 years.

A study on the treatment of obese adolescents with the use of sibutramine in private practice is presented. Patients consisted of 24 boys and 43 girls with obesity (body mass index [BMI]>85th percentile sex-specific BMI for age and sex) ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. Patients were given sibutramine 10 mg per day for 6 months. With the last observation carried forward adjustment, after 6 months of treatment, patients' average weight changed from 91.6+/-19.7 kg to 81.9+/-19.0 kg (P<.001), that is, 89.5+/-7.3% of initial weight. The most frequently reported adverse events included increased blood pressure and pulse rate (n=7), constipation (n=8), dry mouth (n=4), and constipation and dry mouth (n=3). Sibutramine may be considered effective for the treatment of obese adolescents, with a level of safety similar to that observed in adult patients.

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