Prevalence of overweight and obesity in 3-to-10-year-old children: assessment of different cut-off criteria WHO-IOTF

Gama, Augusta; Rosado‐Marques, Vítor; Machado‐Rodrigues, Aristides M.; Nogueira, Helena; Mourão, Isabel; Padez, Cristina

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202020190449

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…Compared with IOTF, WHO both underestimates the proportion of thinness and overestimates the prevalence of overweight (including obesity). Our results agree with previous studies, showing a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among children when using WHO than when using IOTF [3,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Possible explanations for the difference between IOTF and WHO lie in the different populations, time periods, and methodologies studied, all of which affect the cutoff values [36].…”

Section: Agreement Between Reference Systemssupporting

confidence: 90%

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Prevalence of Thinness, Overweight, Obesity, and Central Obesity in Finnish School-Aged Children: A Comparison of National and International Reference Values

et al. 2021

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Introduction: The global epidemic of obesity concerns children, and monitoring the prevalence is of highest priority. Body mass index (BMI) with age- and sex-specific cut-off values determine weight status in children, although multiple reference systems exist. Our aim was to compare the prevalence for thinness, normal weight, overweight and obesity in Finnish school-aged children according to national and international reference values, as well as to determine which cut-off values for overweight agree with the criteria for central obesity. Methods: This study includes 10 646 children aged 9─12 years from the Finnish Health in Teens (Fin-HIT) cohort. Height, weight and waist circumference were measured in 2011─2014. BMI (weight [kg]/height [m]2) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; waist [cm]/height [cm]) were calculated. The WHtR cut-off of > 0.5 indicated central obesity. We compared the sex-specific prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), World Health Organization (WHO) and Finnish (FIN) BMI-for-age reference values, as well as these three against central obesity based on WHtR. Results: The prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity were 11.0%, 12.7% and 2.6%, respectively, using IOTF; 2.6%, 15.9% and 5.2% using WHO; and 5.1%, 11.4% and 2.2% using FIN. Overweight and obesity were more common in boys than girls using WHO and FIN, while thinness more common in girls using IOTF and FIN. IOTF versus WHO exhibited moderate agreement (κ = 0.59), which improved for IOTF versus FIN (κ = 0.74). Of those classified as overweight by WHO, 37% and 47% were regarded as normal weight according to IOTF and FIN, respectively. The prevalence of central obesity was 8.7%, and it was more common in boys than girls. WHO provided the highest sensitivity: 95% of individuals with central obesity were classified with overweight or obesity. Using FIN provided the highest specificity (93%). Conclusion: Our findings show that WHO overestimates the prevalence of overweight and obesity, while IOTF overrates thinness. Thus, comparing prevalence rates between studies requires caution. The novelty of this study is the comparison of the cut-off values for overweight with central obesity. The choice of reference system affects the generalizability of the research results.

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Section: Agreement Between Reference Systemssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…In general, a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity has been observed using WHO rather than IOTF reference values in children from various countries across Europe [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], North America and Asia [3], South America [17,18], and Africa [19]. Yet, opposing findings were reported in two Iranian studies [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Thinness, Overweight, Obesity, and Central Obesity in Finnish School-Aged Children: A Comparison of National and International Reference Values

et al. 2021

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“…Our study found a higher prevalence of values based on the WHO curves compared to the IOTF cut-off points. This was also evidenced in other studies (Gama et al, 2020;Kêkê et al, 2015;Shields & Tremblay, 2010;Valerio et al, 2017) and is possibly related to lower WHO cut-off points, resulting from different methodologies used for the development of both references (Cole & Lobstein, 2012). Some studies indicate moderate to significant agreement between the two criteria, varying according to age and sex (Gama et al, 2020;Kêkê et al, 2015;Valerio et al, 2017), suggesting the WHO curves have greater sensitivity but lower specificity than the IOTF cut-off points to detect overweight and obesity among children and adolescents (Cole & Lobstein, 2012), thus corroborating the importance of using both criteria on epidemiological studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Trends in the prevalence of obesity, overweight, and thinness among schoolchildren aged 7–14 years from southern Brazil (2002–2019)

Spanholi,

Matsuo,

Roberto

et al. 2023

American J Hum Biol

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ObjectiveTo analyze the obesity, overweight, and thinness trends among Brazilian schoolchildren by sex, age group, and type of school according to World Health Organization (WHO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria.MethodsWe conducted four surveys between 2002 and 2018/19 involving schoolchildren aged 7–14 years from a state capital in southern Brazil. Weight status was classified using both WHO and IOTF criteria.ResultsIn the total sample, obesity prevalence based on the IOTF and the WHO criteria were 72% and 44% higher in 2018/19 compared with 2002, respectively. Over the whole period, the obesity prevalence increased among children (WHO: 10.1% vs. 14.1%; IOTF: 5.0% vs. 8.3%), and those from public schools (WHO: 10.5% vs. 16.4%; IOTF: 5.6% vs. 10.1%). There was no significant reduction in thinness prevalence over the analyzed period.ConclusionObesity prevalence remains on an upward trend in a state capital in southern Brazil, especially among children from public schools. A higher prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed using the WHO criteria compared with IOTF criteria.

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“…WHO and CDC developed in 2002 the Growth Charts for the United States and this material would henceforth be incorporated into most national guidelines for the assessment of child health and development and the growth screening [ 88 ]. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), as part of the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO), aiming to the prevention of obesity, developed new cut-offs for defining overweight and obesity, which are used in several countries [ 89 , 90 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burden of Childhood Malnutrition: A Roadmap of Global and European Policies Promoting Healthy Nutrition for Infants and Young Children

et al. 2022

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Childhood malnutrition is a global epidemic with significant public health ramifications. The alarming increase in childhood obesity rates, in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic, pose major challenges. The present review aims to critically discuss policies and action plans promoting healthy nutrition among infants and children, globally. Since the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and the joint consortium held by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that led to the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding”, several policymakers and scientific societies have produced relevant reports. Today, the WHO and UNICEF remain the key players on the field, elaborating the guidelines shaped by international expert teams over time, but we still have a long way to go before assuring the health of our children.

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Prevalence of overweight and obesity in 3-to-10-year-old children: assessment of different cut-off criteria WHO-IOTF

Cited by 5 publications

References 23 publications

Prevalence of Thinness, Overweight, Obesity, and Central Obesity in Finnish School-Aged Children: A Comparison of National and International Reference Values

Prevalence of Thinness, Overweight, Obesity, and Central Obesity in Finnish School-Aged Children: A Comparison of National and International Reference Values

Trends in the prevalence of obesity, overweight, and thinness among schoolchildren aged 7–14 years from southern Brazil (2002–2019)

Burden of Childhood Malnutrition: A Roadmap of Global and European Policies Promoting Healthy Nutrition for Infants and Young Children

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