Prevalence of Obesity and Trends in Body Mass Index Among US Children and Adolescents, 1999-2010
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Open Access
- 1 February 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in JAMA
- Vol. 307 (5) , 483-490
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.40
Abstract
Childhood obesity continues to be a major focus of public health efforts in the United States.1 Obese children may be at risk for both short-term health consequences2 and long-term tracking of obesity to adulthood.3 In 2007-2008, 16.8% of US children and adolescents had a body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) greater than or equal to the 95th percentile on the BMI-for-age growth charts and were considered obese. Although significant increases in obesity prevalence were seen in both sexes of children and adolescents during the 1980s and 1990s,4 between 1999-2000 and 2007-2008, significant increases were seen only at the highest cut point of BMI, corresponding to the 97th percentile, in 6- through 19-year-old males. No change at any cut point was seen in females.5Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Trends in overweight and obesity and changes in the distribution of body mass index in schoolchildren of Jena, East GermanyEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006