What is the definition of childhood overweight or childhood obesity?
A child is considered overweight if their body mass index (BMI) is at or above the 85th percentile of height to weight. [BMI is a common measure expressing the relationship (or ratio) of weight-to-height. It is a mathematical formula in which a person’s body weight in kilograms is divided by the square of his or her height in meters (i.e., wt/(ht)2. The BMI is more highly correlated with body fat than any other indicator of height and weight.] Cutoff criteria are based on the 2000 CDC (Centers for Disease Control) BMI-for-age-growth charts for the United States. Based on current recommendations of expert committees, children with BMI values at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI growth charts are categorized as obese.
