Table IV.
International overweight and obesity classification methods for children and adolescents
| Classification | Indicator | Risk of overweight | Overweight* | Obesity | Age range [years] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHO 2007(23) | BMI/age | – | > 1 SD and ≤ 2 SD | > 2 SD | 5–19 |
| IOTF 2000 (97) | BMI/age | – | Age-specific† and sex-specific† BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity that track with BMI values of 25 at 18 years of age | Age-specific† and sex-specific† BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity that track with BMI values of 30 at 18 years of age | 2–18 |
| CDC 2000 (98) | BMI/age | – | ≥ p85 < p95 | ≥ p95 | 2–19 |
| NCHS/WHO | BMI/age | – | ≥ p85 < p95 | ≥ p95 | 10–19 |
| 1979 (99) | W/H | – | 2 SD | – | < 10 |
W/H – weight-for-height, SD – standard deviation, IOTF – International Obesity Task Force, CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCHS – National Center for Health Statistics, p85 – 85th percentile, p95 – 95th percentile.
*
In children younger than 5 years, overweight is currently defined as risk of overweight, and obesity as overweight, according to the WHO 2006 norms and for CDC 2000 reference since 2007.
†
For children younger than 2 years, the indicator is weight-for-length, referred to here and in the text as weight-for-height.