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. 2022 Jan 11;15(2):118–134. doi: 10.1159/000521913

Table 3.

Prevalence of severe obesity in children and adolescents according to gender

Author Country Years Age-group, years Children with severe obesity, %
females males
Skinner et al. [13] 2015–2016 2–19 >120% of 95th percentile and >140% of 95th percentile
USA Class II 5.2 (3.3, 7.1) 6.7 (4.4, 8.9)
Class III 1.8 (0.8, 2.8) 2.0 (0.9, 3.2) CDC cut-off

Pan et al. [10] 2000 2–4 1.85 1.75 ≥120% of 95th percentile, CDC cut-off
USA 2014 2.06 1.85

Marcus et al. [27] 2006 12 6.4 7.5 >99th percentile
USA CDC cut-off

Skelton et al. [32] 1999–2004 2–19 2.9 4.6 >99th percentile
USA CDC cut-off

Robbins et al. [11] 2006 5–18 8.1 8.9 ≥120% of 95th percentile, CDC cut-off
Philadelphia, USA 2013 7.2 7.5

Nguyen et al. [1] 2010 3–17 9 (6–12) 6 (4–10) >120% of 95th percentile, CDC cut-off
Philadelphia, USA

Kharofa et al. [6] 2012–2014 2–18 >120% of 95th percentile and 140% of 95th percentile
Cincinnati, OH, USA Class II 4.9 4.5
Class III 3.1 2.5 CDC cut-off

Day et al. [4] 2006 5–14 5.5 7.2 >120% of 95th percentile CDC cut-off
New York City, USA 2011 4.9 6.4

Lo et al. [8] 2007–2010 3 1.0 1.1 >120% of 95th percentile CDC cut-off
Northern California, USA 4 1.1 1.6
5 2.1 3.0

Lo et al. [7] 2007–2010 6–17 5.3 5.8 >120% of 95th percentile CDC cut-off
Northern California, USA 6–11 4.2 6.3
12–17 4.7 6.9

Koebnick [47] 2007–2008 2–19 5.5 7.3 >120% of 95th percentile, CDC cut-off
Southern California, USA 2–5 2.3 2.7
6–11 6.0 8.8
12–19 6.8 8.7

Carsley et al. [18] 2009–2015 0–2 0.4 0.6 BMI Z >3SD
Toronto, Canada 2–5 0.8 1.7 WHO cut-off [≥99.9th]
5–6 1.7 2.4

Carsley et al. [34] 2004–2015 ≤4 0.6 (0.4, 0.8) 1.2 (0.9, 1.4) BMI Z >3SD
Ontario, Canada 5–9 1.7 (1.3, 2.2) 3.5 (2.9, 4.2) WHO cut-off
10–14 2.4 (2.0, 3.0) 3.3 (2.7, 4.0)
15–18 3.8 (3.0, 4.8) 3.5 (2.7, 4.0)

Cruz et al. [35] Mexico 2007 6–12 4.1 6.3 ≥99th percentile
Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico CDC cut-off

Shackleton et al. [38] 2010–2011 4 2.9 (2.8, 3.0) 4.0 (3.9, 4.1) ≥99.7th percentile
New Zealand 2015–2016 2.5 (2.5, 2.6) 3.2 (3.2, 3.3) WHO cut-off

Farrant et al. [21] 2007 13–18 2.3 (1.4, 3.2) 2.6 (2.0, 3.3) BMI >35 kg/m2
New Zealand IOTF cut-off

Utter et al. [22] 2007 13–18 2.4 (1.5, 3.2) 2.6 (2.0, 3.3) BMI >35 kg/m2
New Zealand 2007–2012 2012 4.2 (2.5, 6.0) 3.2 (2.1, 4.3) IOTF cut-off

Nam et al. [9] 2014 2–9 0.8 (0.4, 1.9) 0.5 (0.1, 1.7) >120% of 95th percentile CDC cut-off
Korea 10–19 1.0 (0.5, 2.0) 4.7 (3.4, 6.5)
2001–2014

Chen et al. [36] 2017 2–7 0.17 0.39 Weight-for height
Xiamen, China 2 0.08 0.24 >50% reference population
2011–2017 3 0.14 0.17 WHO cut-off
4 0.09 0.28
5 0 0.34
6 0.55 0.86

Zhang [24] 1995 7–18 0.11 0.25 BMI >35 kg/m2
China 2014 7–12 1.29 2.73 IOTF cut-off
1995–2014 2014 13–18 1.95 3.93
0.63 1.51

Ells et al. [30] 2006–2013 4–5 1.9 2.3 99.9th percentile of the British 1990 (UK90) growth reference
United Kingdom 10–11 2.9 3.9
Beynon and Bailey [40] 2017–2018 4–5 3.0 (2.7–3.2) 3.6 (3.4–3.9) 99.6th percentile Royal College of Paediatrics
Wales, United Kingdom
2017–2018

Bohn et al. [42] 2005 <21 11.2 12.2 ≥99.5th percentile for age and sex
Germany 2015 11.2 13.8
2005–2015

Segna et al. [39] 2003–2004 2–16 1.9 2.3 BMI ≥99.5th percentile of German national reference
Vienna, Austria

Cadenas-Sanchez et al. [41] 2014–2015 4.6±0.9 1.2 1.3 >120% of 95th percentile and >140% of 95th percentile
Spain
WHO cut-off

van Dommelen et al. [15] 1980–2009 2–5 1.00 0.53 >120% of 95th percentile
Holland 6–11 0.63 0.62 WHO cut-off
12–18 0.17 0.60

Twig et al. [14] 1967–2015 17 >120% of 95th percentile and >140% of 95th percentile
Israel Class II 1.2 1.9
1967–2015 Class III 0.4 0.5 CDC cut-off

El Mouzan et al. [19] 2005 5–12 1.0 2.0 BMI >3 SDS
Saudi Arabia 12–18 2.1 2.6 WHO cut-off

AlBlooshi et al. [25] 2013–2015 3–6 3.4 2.5 BMI ≥99th percentile
United Arab Emirates 7–10 4.4 3.9 CDC cut-off
11–14 5.6 7.1
15–18 7.2 9.6

IOTF, International Obesity Task Force.