Abstract
BackgroundChildhood obesity is a public health problem in Canada. Accurate measurement of a health problem is crucial in defining its burden. The objective of this study is to compare the prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity in preschool children using three growth references.MethodsWeights and heights were measured on 1026 preschool children born in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada, and body mass index calculated. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined and statistical comparisons conducted among the three growth references; the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).ResultsCDC and IOTF produced similar estimates of the prevalence of overweight, 19.1% versus 18.2% while the WHO reported a higher prevalence 26.7% (p < .001). The CDC classified twice as many children as obese compared to the IOTF 16.6% versus 8.3% (p < .001) and a third more than the WHO 16.6% versus 11.3% (p < .01). There was variable level of agreement between methods.ConclusionsThe CDC reported a much higher prevalence of obesity compared to the other references. The prevalence of childhood obesity is dependent on the growth reference used.
Highlights
Childhood obesity is a public health problem in Canada
There are three sets of growth references commonly used to assess a child’s weight status and health risk; BMI cut-points published by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and those published by the World Health Organization (WHO) [10,11,12]
Inconsistent prevalence estimates of childhood overweight and obesity based on variant growth references
Summary
Childhood obesity is a public health problem in Canada. Accurate measurement of a health problem is crucial in defining its burden. The objective of this study is to compare the prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity in preschool children using three growth references. There are three sets of growth references commonly used to assess a child’s weight status and health risk; BMI cut-points published by the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and those published by the World Health Organization (WHO) [10,11,12]. The purpose of this paper is to compare prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity among a regional preschool population living in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada using the CDC, IOTF and WHO BMI cut-points. A secondary objective is to assess the level of agreement between the growth references
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