[Assessment of Polish adolescents overweight and obesity using three different research tools]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Polish adolescents aged 13-15 years using three research tools: 1. BMI > or = 85th (overweight) and BMI > or = 95th percentiles (obesity) using Polish national reference data, 2. WHO standard, 3. International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) standard. Height and weight were measured in randomly selected group of over 8000 adolescents in 5 regions in Poland. The prevalence of overweight and obesity using these tools was similar--about 13%. The prevalence of obesity ranged from 2.2 to 4.5%, depending on the methods used. We found underestimation for obesity especially in girls using international standards. WHO and IOTF standards are useful to estimate overweight and obesity to international comparisons. For national use: clinical and epidemiological Polish references data and definition BMI > or = 85th (overweight) and BMI > or = 95th percentiles (obesity) are better tools.