PMID- 34937040
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20220504
LR  - 20220716
IS  - 1662-4033 (Electronic)
IS  - 1662-4025 (Print)
IS  - 1662-4025 (Linking)
VI  - 15
IP  - 2
DP  - 2022
TI  - Prevalence of Thinness, Overweight, Obesity, and Central Obesity in Finnish 
      School-Aged Children: A Comparison of National and International Reference 
      Values.
PG  - 240-247
LID - 10.1159/000521170 [doi]
AB  - INTRODUCTION: The 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. 
      METHODS: This 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. RESULTS: The 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 (kappa = 0.59), which improved for IOTF versus FIN (kappa = 
      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%). 
      CONCLUSION: Our 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.
CI  - (c) 2021 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.
FAU - Sarkkola, Catharina
AU  - Sarkkola C
AD  - Folkhalsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
FAU - Viljakainen, Jannina
AU  - Viljakainen J
AD  - Folkhalsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
FAU - de Oliveira Figueiredo, Rejane Augusta
AU  - de Oliveira Figueiredo RA
AD  - Folkhalsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
AD  - Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
FAU - Saari, Antti
AU  - Saari A
AD  - Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
AD  - University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
FAU - Lommi, Sohvi
AU  - Lommi S
AD  - Folkhalsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
AD  - Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 
      Helsinki, Finland.
FAU - Engberg, Elina
AU  - Engberg E
AD  - Folkhalsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
AD  - Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of 
      Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
FAU - Viljakainen, Heli
AU  - Viljakainen H
AD  - Folkhalsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.
AD  - Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20211222
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Obes Facts
JT  - Obesity facts
JID - 101469429
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - Body Mass Index
MH  - Child
MH  - Female
MH  - Finland/epidemiology
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Obesity/epidemiology
MH  - Obesity, Abdominal/epidemiology
MH  - *Overweight/epidemiology
MH  - Prevalence
MH  - Reference Values
MH  - *Thinness/epidemiology
PMC - PMC9021618
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Body mass index
OT  - Central obesity
OT  - Children
OT  - Overweight
OT  - Reference values
COIS- The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
EDAT- 2021/12/23 06:00
MHDA- 2022/05/06 06:00
PMCR- 2021/12/22
CRDT- 2021/12/22 20:15
PHST- 2021/08/20 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/11/23 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2021/12/23 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/05/06 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2021/12/22 20:15 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/12/22 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 000521170 [pii]
AID - ofa-0015-0240 [pii]
AID - 10.1159/000521170 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Obes Facts. 2022;15(2):240-247. doi: 10.1159/000521170. Epub 2021 Dec 22.