Importance More than one-third of adults and 17% of youth in the United States are obese, although the prevalence remained stable between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010. Objective To provide the most recent national estimates of childhood obesity, analyze trends in childhood obesity between 2003 and 2012, and provide detailed obesity trend analyses among adults. Design, Setting, and Participants Weight and height or recumbent length were measured in 9120 participants in the 2011-2012 nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Main Outcomes and Measures In infants and toddlers from birth to 2 years, high weight for recumbent length was defined as weight for length at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. In children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years, obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific CDC BMI-for-age growth charts. In adults, obesity was defined as a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Analyses of trends in high weight for recumbent length or obesity prevalence were conducted overall and separately by age across 5 periods (2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, and 2011-2012). Results In 2011-2012, 8.1% (95% CI, 5.8%-11.1%) of infants and toddlers had high weight for recumbent length, and 16.9% (95% CI, 14.9%-19.2%) of 2- to 19-year-olds and 34.9% (95% CI, 32.0%-37.9%) of adults (age-adjusted) aged 20 years or older were obese. Overall, there was no significant change from 2003-2004 through 2011-2012 in high weight for recumbent length among infants and toddlers, obesity in 2- to 19-year-olds, or obesity in adults. Tests for an interaction between survey period and age found an interaction in children ( P  = .03) and women ( P  = .02). There was a significant decrease in obesity among 2- to 5-year-old children (from 13.9% to 8.4%; P  = .03) and a significant increase in obesity among women aged 60 years and older (from 31.5% to 38.1%; P  = .006). Conclusions and Relevance Overall, there have been no significant changes in obesity prevalence in youth or adults between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012. Obesity prevalence remains high and thus it is important to continue surveillance.

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Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012.

Objective To construct growth curves for school-aged children and adolescents that accord with the WHO Child Growth Standards for preschool children and the body mass index (BMI) cut-offs for adults. Methods Data from the 1977 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/WHO growth reference (1–24 years) were merged with data from the under-fives growth standards’ cross-sectional sample (18–71 months) to smooth the transition between the two samples. State-of-the-art statistical methods used to construct the WHO Child Growth Standards (0–5 years), i.e. the Box-Cox power exponential (BCPE) method with appropriate diagnostic tools for the selection of best models, were applied to this combined sample. Findings The merged data sets resulted in a smooth transition at 5 years for height-for-age, weight-for-age and BMI-for-age. For BMI-for-age across all centiles the magnitude of the difference between the two curves at age 5 years is mostly 0.0 kg/m² to 0.1 kg/m². At 19 years, the new BMI values at +1 standard deviation (SD) are 25.4 kg/m² for boys and 25.0 kg/m² for girls. These values are equivalent to the overweight cut-off for adults (> 25.0 kg/m²). Similarly, the +2 SD value (29.7 kg/m² for both sexes) compares closely with the cut-off for obesity (> 30.0 kg/m²). Conclusion The new curves are closely aligned with the WHO Child Growth Standards at 5 years, and the recommended adult cut-offs for overweight and obesity at 19 years. They fill the gap in growth curves and provide an appropriate reference for the 5 to 19 years age group. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2007;85:660–667.

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Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(07)61690-0.pdf

Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences

The global burden of disease.

Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries

WHO child growth standards: length/height-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-length, weight-for-height and body mass index-for-age - Methods and development

Ali J. Mohamed

Papers

WHO child growth standards: length/height-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-length, weight-for-height and body mass index-for-age - Methods and development