We have located links that may give you full text access.
Comparative Study
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Use of BMI as a measure of overweight and obesity in a field study on 5-7 year old children.
European Journal of Nutrition 2002 April
OBJECTIVE: The present field study examines the use of BMI in comparison with estimates of percent fat mass to screen for overweight and obesity in children.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional field study.
SETTING: Four waves of children 1996-1999 at Kiel, North West Germany.
SUBJECTS: A representative large sample of 2,286 5-7 year old children representing 40% of the total child population examined by school physicians within the same period in Kiel.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BMI was compared with anthropometric measures (TSF, BSF, SIF, SSF) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The 90th and 97th BMI percentiles were used as cut offs for overweight and obesity, respectively.
RESULTS: BMI reached a low sensitivity to identify overweight children when compared with the two estimates of % FM (0.60 to 0.78 for girls, 0.71 to 0.82 for boys, respectively). The specificity of BMI was 93 to 95 %. By contrast, BMI reached higher sensitivity to screen for obese children of 0.83 to 0.85 for boys and 0.62 to 0.80 for girls at a concomitant specificity of 0.95 to 0.98 for boys and 0.96 to 0.97 for girls as defined by assessment of body fat mass. Comparing nutritional status of overweight children classified as overweight or non overweight by BMI shows that BMI only identified obese but not-overweight children.
CONCLUSION: BMI can be used to screen for obese children. In contrast BMI has a poor sensitivity to screen for overweight children. Body composition analysis should be used to screen for children at risk of becoming obese.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional field study.
SETTING: Four waves of children 1996-1999 at Kiel, North West Germany.
SUBJECTS: A representative large sample of 2,286 5-7 year old children representing 40% of the total child population examined by school physicians within the same period in Kiel.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BMI was compared with anthropometric measures (TSF, BSF, SIF, SSF) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The 90th and 97th BMI percentiles were used as cut offs for overweight and obesity, respectively.
RESULTS: BMI reached a low sensitivity to identify overweight children when compared with the two estimates of % FM (0.60 to 0.78 for girls, 0.71 to 0.82 for boys, respectively). The specificity of BMI was 93 to 95 %. By contrast, BMI reached higher sensitivity to screen for obese children of 0.83 to 0.85 for boys and 0.62 to 0.80 for girls at a concomitant specificity of 0.95 to 0.98 for boys and 0.96 to 0.97 for girls as defined by assessment of body fat mass. Comparing nutritional status of overweight children classified as overweight or non overweight by BMI shows that BMI only identified obese but not-overweight children.
CONCLUSION: BMI can be used to screen for obese children. In contrast BMI has a poor sensitivity to screen for overweight children. Body composition analysis should be used to screen for children at risk of becoming obese.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Challenges in Septic Shock: From New Hemodynamics to Blood Purification Therapies.Journal of Personalized Medicine 2024 Februrary 4
Molecular Targets of Novel Therapeutics for Diabetic Kidney Disease: A New Era of Nephroprotection.International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024 April 4
The 'Ten Commandments' for the 2023 European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of endocarditis.European Heart Journal 2024 April 18
A Guide to the Use of Vasopressors and Inotropes for Patients in Shock.Journal of Intensive Care Medicine 2024 April 14
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app