ArticleObesity facts2022
Prevalence of Thinness, Overweight, Obesity, and Central Obesity in Finnish School-Aged Children: A Comparison of National and International Reference Values.
Article in Obesity facts, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Associations of Body Mass Index and Lifestyle Factors with Suicidal Ideation, Planning, and Attempts Among Korean Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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- Classification of overweight/obesity among Saudi adolescents relative to lifestyle behaviors using the IOTF or WHO reference standards.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- Waist-circumference-to-height-ratio had better longitudinal agreement with DEXA-measured fat mass than BMI in 7237 children.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Prevalence and incidence of MAFLD and associated anthropometric parameters among prepubertal children of the Shanghai Birth Cohort.Hepatology international · 2023Article
- Changes of anthropometric indicators of lithuanian first-graders in 2008-2019 according to International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and World Health Organization (WHO) definitions.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Association of socioeconomic position and childhood obesity in Finland: a registry-based study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Relationships between Body Weight Status and Serum Levels of Adipokine, Myokine and Bone Metabolism Parameters in Healthy Normal Weight and Thin Children.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Body Mass Index, Physical Activity, and Body Image in Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe global epidemic of obesity concerns children, and monitoring the prevalence is of highest priority. Body mass index (BMI) with age- and sex-specific cutoff values determines weight status in children, although multiple reference systems exist. Our aim was to compare the prevalence for thinness, normal weight, overweight, and obesity in Finnish school-aged children according to national and international reference values, as well as to determine which cutoff values for overweight agree with the criteria for central obesity.
methodsThis study includes 10,646 children aged 9-12 years from the Finnish Health in Teens cohort. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured in 2011-2014. BMI (weight [kg]/height [m]2) and the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; waist [cm]/height [cm]) were calculated. The WHtR cutoff of >0.5 indicated central obesity. We compared the sex-specific prevalence of thinness, overweight, and obesity using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), World Health Organization (WHO) and Finnish (FIN) BMI-for-age reference values, as well as these three against central obesity based on the WHtR.
resultsThe prevalence of thinness, overweight, and obesity were 11.0%, 12.7%, and 2.6%, respectively, using IOTF; 2.6%, 15.9%, and 5.2% using WHO; and 5.1%, 11.4%, and 2.2% using FIN. Overweight and obesity were more common in boys than girls using WHO and FIN, while thinness was more common in girls using IOTF and FIN. IOTF versus WHO exhibited moderate agreement (κ = 0.59), which improved for IOTF versus FIN (κ = 0.74). Of those classified as overweight by WHO, 37% and 47% were regarded as normal weight according to IOTF and FIN, respectively. The prevalence of central obesity was 8.7%, and it was more common in boys than girls. WHO provided the highest sensitivity: 95% of individuals with central obesity were classified with overweight or obesity. Using FIN provided the highest specificity (93%).
conclusionOur findings show that WHO overestimates the prevalence of overweight and obesity, while IOTF overrates thinness. Thus, comparing prevalence rates between studies requires caution. The novelty of this study is the comparison of the cutoff values for overweight with central obesity. The choice of reference system affects the generalizability of the research results.
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