Variation in childhood and adolescent obesity prevalence defined by international and country-specific criteria in England and the US

Ruth R Kipping (1) , Iain A Lang (1) , Russell Jago (1) , Da Lawlor (1)

1 Department of Social Medicine

Objective: To compare childhood obesity prevalence in England and the US using different criteria. Methods: Participants included 2 to 17 year olds in the Health Survey for England (HSE, n=33,563) and the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, n=14,540) 1999 through 2006. Mean BMI and prevalence of obesity were compared using the UK 1990, US 2000 Centers for Disease Control and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria. Results: English children at ages 2 through 5 had a higher mean BMI than US children (mean difference (English minus US) =0.41kg/m2, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.52). At ages >8 mean BMI was lower in England (for ages 8 through 11 mean difference= -1.00kg/m2, 95% CI -1.26 to -0.75; for ages 12 through 17 mean difference= -1.37kg/m2, 95% CI -1.59 to -1.14). The IOTF criteria produced the lowest estimates of obesity prevalence. The 2000 CDC criteria produced the highest estimates in younger children and the UK 1990 criteria produced the highest in adolescents. Children aged 2-5 in England had higher prevalence of obesity than those in the US when using the 2000 CDC and UK 1990 criteria. US adolescents had the highest prevalence of obesity by age group using each of the three criteria. Conclusion: The 2000 CDC and UK 1990 criteria give a higher prevalence of obesity in England than the US at ages 2 through 5 but at ages >8 the reverse is true. Estimates of childhood obesity prevalence rely on the criteria used, which has implications for surveillance and clinical practice.

Mots clés: Adolescent; Body Weight; Child; Epidemiologic Measurements; Obesity; Overweight; Public health

Ruth R Kipping, Iain A Lang, Russell Jago, Da Lawlor. Variation in childhood and adolescent obesity prevalence defined by international and country-specific criteria in England and the US. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, ⟨10.1038/ejcn.2010.260⟩. ⟨hal-00600441⟩