Abstract

MASCARENHAS, Luis P. G. et al. Cutoff for body mass index in adolescents: comparison with national and international reference standards. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2011, vol.21, n.3, pp. 798-807. ISSN 0104-1282.

OBJECTIVE: to develop a scale percentile for body mass index (BMI) for adolescents aged 10 to 14 years from the city of Curitiba, Paraná, and compare the values found for overweight (85th percentile) and obesity (95th percentile) with references to national and international BMI. METHOD: mixed longitudinal study with 5231 evaluation, 2471 in boys and girls in 2760, aged 10 and 14 years. This number was obtained from semester evaluations conducted between the years 1998 to 2002, generating 4321 observations (longitudinal study), further evaluation of 910 individuals in 2006 (cross-sectional study). BMI was calculated as the ratio of body mass (kg) divided by height (m) squared. Frequency tables were prepared based on the percentile distribution. To identify differences in cut-off points for overweight and obesity with the national study of Cintra, and Conde and with the international study of Cole non-parametric binomial test was used. RESULTS: compared with the references, the young people of Curitiba were overestimated overweight if used for the reference of Conde and Cole and underestimated in the regional reference Cintra. The same trends were observed with respect to the 95th percentile (obesity), but not for all ages. CONCLUSION: we observed differences in the values of BMI suggested as cut-off points for overweight and obesity in relation to national and international references emphasizing the need to use specific references for each population.

Keywords : body composition; overweight; obesity; adolescent.

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