Puberty and the definition of overweight and obesity

Abstract

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents is obviously high in the United States. However, the best way to define overweight and obesity in young individuals has been a topic of debate. Historically, the approach has been to use percentile values for body mass index by age and sex produced by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. However, some have argued that this approach is not optimum for a range of reasons. One concern has been the impact of puberty on growth in height and weight, suggesting that age and sex alone are not adequate as control variables. In this volume of The Journal, Bomberg et al evaluated the impact of including pubertal maturation to characterize weight status by comparing the prevalence of overweight and obesity before and after adjusting for Tanner stage. They found that adjusting for pubertal status reduced the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Whether this approach would be practical from a clinical perspective remains an open question. However, from a qualitative standpoint, it is worth considering, especially for early maturers, when considering a diagnosis of overweight or obesity. Article page 200 ▸ Adjusting for Pubertal Status Reduces Overweight and Obesity Prevalence in the United StatesThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 231PreviewTo compare pediatric overweight and obesity prevalence among non-Hispanic white, Mexican American, and non-Hispanic black US youths before and after adjusting body mass index (BMI) for pubertal status, as assessed by Tanner stage. Full-Text PDF