No abstract

Defining the international cut-offs in terms of the underlying LMS curves has several benefits. New cut-offs are easy to derive (e.g. BMI 35 for morbid obesity), and they can be expressed as BMI centiles (e.g. boys obesity = 98.9th centile), allowing them to be compared with other BMI references. For WHO, median BMI is relatively low in early life and high at older ages, probably due to its method of construction.

No abstract

There is a growing global childhood obesity epidemic, with a large variation in secular trends across countries. Effective programs and policies are needed at global, regional and national levels to limit the problem among children.

The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has risen substantially worldwide in less than one generation. In the USA, the average weight of a child has risen by more than 5 kg within three decades, to a point where a third of the country’s children are overweight or obese. Some low-income and middle-income countries have reported similar or more rapid rises in child obesity, despite continuing high levels of undernutrition. Nutrition policies to tackle child obesity need to promote healthy growth and household nutrition security and protect children from inducements to be inactive or to overconsume foods of poor nutritional quality. The promotion of energy-rich and nutrient-poor products will encourage rapid weight gain in early childhood and exacerbate risk factors for chronic disease in all children, especially those showing poor linear growth. Whereas much public health effort has been expended to restrict the adverse marketing of breastmilk substitutes, similar effort now needs to be expanded and strengthened to protect older children from increasingly sophisticated marketing of sedentary activities and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages. To meet this challenge, the governance of food supply and food markets should be improved and commercial activities subordinated to protect and promote children’s health.