Table 1.
Comparison of pediatric body mass index (BMI) percentile and adult BMI criteria for weight classification in 23,640 older teens ages 18–19 years old (column percentages are represented)
| ADULT CRITERIA for absolute BMI Classification | PEDIATRIC CRITERIA for BMI Percentile Classification | BMI PERCENTILE IN THE OBESE RANGE BMI ≥95th percentile |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underweight <5th percentile N = 792 |
Normal weight 5th to <85th percentile N = 15,744 |
Overweight 85th to <95th percentile N = 3721 |
Obese ≥95th percentile N = 3383 |
|||
|
Underweight <18.5 kg/m2 N = 1236 |
761 (96.1%) | 475 (3.0%) § | 0 | 0 |
Moderate obesity <120% × 95th percentile N = 2225 |
Severe obesity ≥120% × 95th percentile N = 1158 |
|
Normal 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 N = 13,899 |
31 (3.9%) € | 13,868 (88.1%) | 0 | 0 | ||
|
Overweight 25–29.9 kg/m2 N = 5130 |
0 | 1401 (8.9%) * | 3532 (94.9%) | 197 (5.8%) ‡ | 197 (8.8%) ‡ | 0 |
|
Obese ≥30 kg/m2 N = 3375 |
0 | 0 | 189 (5.1%) † | 3186 (94.2%) | ||
|
ABSOLUTE BMI IN THE OBESE RANGE BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2 |
Class I obesity 30.0–34.9 kg/m2 N = 1967 |
189 (5.1%) † | 1773 (79.7%) | 5 (0.4%) | ||
|
Class II obesity 35.0–39.9 kg/m2 N = 879 |
0 | 255 (11.5%) ∆ | 624 (53.9%) | |||
|
Class III obesity ≥40 kg/m2 N = 529 |
0 | 0 | 529 (45.7%) | |||
Pediatric criteria for BMI percentile classification: 3.4%, underweight, 66.6% normal weight, 15.7% overweight, 14.3% obese.
Adult criteria for BMI classification in the cohort: 5.2%, underweight, 58.8% normal weight, 21.7% overweight, 14.3% obese.
Bolded numbers and percentages represent concordant classification based on pediatric BMI percentile and adult BMI categories
These 475 (2.0% of cohort, 38 male, 437 female) had underweight BMI values (17.6–18.4 kg/m2) and normal range BMI percentiles (5.0–12.9th percentile)
These 31 (0.1% of cohort) were all male with normal BMI values (18.5–19.0 kg/m2) and underweight BMI percentiles (2.9–4.9th, median 4.6th percentile). They included 4 with chronic/acute illness (3 with subsequently normal BMI during the ensuing 2 years and 1 with no follow-up BMI). Among the remaining 27, 10 had no follow-up BMI, 13 had normal follow-up BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m2) and 4 had low follow-up BMI (BMI 17.7–17.9 kg/m2, all with height >70 inches and no active health issues) using adult criteria.
These 1401 (5.9% of cohort, 752 male, 649 female) had overweight BMI values (25.0–26.9 kg/m2) and normal range BMI percentiles (72.1–84.9th percentile)
These 189 (0.8% of cohort, 4 male, 185 female) had obese BMI values 30.0–31.4 kg/m2 and overweight range BMI percentiles (93.4–94.9th percentile)
These 197 (0.8% of cohort) were all male with overweight BMI values 29.0–29.9 kg/m2 and obesity range BMI percentiles (95.0–96.4th percentile)
These 255 (1.1% of the cohort, 34 male, 221 female) had BMI ranging 35.0–37.7 kg/m2.