Comparison of three criteria for overweight and obesity classification among adolescents from southern Brazil

Abstract

-Aim:To estimate the prevalence of the classifications of overweight and obesity in adolescents according to three criteria for nutritional status classification (Conde & Monteiro, International Obesity Task Force -IOTF and Word Health Organization -WHO), and to investigate whether sociodemographic factors associated with overweight and obesity differ among the three criteria. Method: cross-sectional study with 1,132 adolescents (14-19 years old) living in Brazil. Body Mass Index (BMI) was classified according to three criteria for nutritional status. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic information. Sexual maturation was measured by self-reported Tanner stage ratings. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the Odds Ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Results: The prevalence of the classification "overweight" (from here on referred to simply as "overweight") was 23.1% for WHO; 23.7% for Conde & Monteiro criteria: and 19.2% for IOTF. Both boys and girls aged 17-19 were more likely to be overweight using the WHO and Conde & Monteiro criteria than those using the IOTF criteria. Girls in the postpubertal maturational stage were less likely of being overweight or obese using the three criteria. Conclusion: The three criteria result in different prevalence measures, with WHO and Conde and Monteiro criteria being more approximate in terms of prevalence and correlated factors when compared to IOTF criteria.

Prevalence of weight excess in Brazilian children and adolescents: a systematic review

“…In Brazil, childhood overweight and obesity are major public health issues that affect all ages and regions but with distinct intensity, mostly due to the socioeconomic differences among regions and individuals 5 . Hence, national coverage studies are essential to monitor children and adolescents health 6 .…”

Accuracy of international growth charts to assess nutritional status in children and adolescents: a systematic review

“…50 Regarding the WHO/2007 BMI-for-age charts for the Brazilian population, they were adequate for diagnosing overweight and obesity, being similar to the Brazilian national growth charts (Conde & Monteiro), and showing substantial agreement with those of the IOTF. 16,33,34,45 From another perspective, for the Asian populations of China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, there is great variation between the WHO and national growth charts. When compared to the WHO standard/reference populations, Chinese boys present higher weight values and Chinese girls lower weight values, with significant variations in some age groups, while children and adolescents from Saudi Arabia present higher percentile values.…”