Using weight-for-age percentiles to screen for overweight and obese children and adolescents

Preventive Medicine
Adir GamlielGal Dubnov-Raz

Abstract

There are relatively low rates of screening for overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in primary care. A simplified method for such screening is needed. The study objective was to examine if weight-for-age percentiles are sufficiently sensitive in identifying overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. We used data from two distinct sources: four consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from the years 2005 to 2012, using participants aged 2-17.9 years for whom data on age, sex, weight, and height were available (n=12,884), and primary care clinic measurements (n=15,152). Primary outcomes were the threshold values of weight-for-age percentiles which best discriminated between normal weight, overweight, and obesity status. Receiver operating characteristic analyses demonstrated that weight-for-age percentiles well discriminated between normal weight and overweight and between non-obese and obese individuals (area under curve=0.956 and 0.977, respectively, both p<0.001). Following Classification and Regression Trees analysis, the 90th and 75th weight-for-age percentiles were chosen as appropriate cutoffs for obesity and overweight, respectively. These cutoffs had ...Continue Reading

References

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Feb 27, 2014·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·Cynthia L OgdenKatherine M Flegal

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Citations

Aug 1, 2018·Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology·Allison G OrdemannScott P Stringer
Jun 15, 2016·CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology·G SmaniaM Cella
Sep 23, 2019·American Journal of Preventive Medicine·Stephanie A Ettinger de CubaDeborah A Frank
Sep 11, 2019·Pediatrics·Chloe R DrennenMaureen M Black

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