Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición (Dec 2008)
Comparación entre referencias de las prevalencias de sobrepeso y obesidad, estimadas a través del Índice de Masa Corporal, en niños de Argentina Comparison between references of the overweight and obesity prevalence, through the Body Mass Index, in Argentinean children
Abstract
La evaluación de la situación nutricional de los niños, depende en gran medida de las curvas de crecimiento utilizadas. El objetivo de esta investigación es comparar las prevalencias de sobrepeso y obesidad estimadas con tres referencias internacionales en una población de niños, a través del Índice de Masa Corporal. Se incluyeron 737 niños/as nacidos de término sanos, de 2 a 5 años (estudio transversal). La Participación fue voluntaria y consentida. Se estableció el Índice de Masa Corporal (kg/m²). Las técnicas de medición se basaron en guías nacionales. Las referencias utilizadas fueron: 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (>Pc85: sobrepeso; > Pc95: obesidad); 2. International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) (valores límites sexo-edad específicos) y 3. Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) (+2 desvíos estándar: sobrepeso; >+3: obesidad). Los resultados fueron evaluados estadísticamente mediante el programa Epi Info 6.0 (χ², p The evaluation of child nutritional status is highly dependent on the growth charts used. The aim of this study was to compare different references assessing overweight and obesity in children population, through the Body Mass Index. A total of 737 healthy children born at term, aged 2-5 years, were included (cross-sectional study). The participation was voluntary and consent. Body Mass Index (kg/m²) was estimated. The measurements techniques were based on national guidelines. We compared three references: (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (>Pc85: overweight; >Pc95: obesity; (2) International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) (sex-age-specific body mass index cut-offs); (3) World Health Organization (WHO) (+2 standard deviation: overweight; +3: obesity). The Epi Info 6.0 software was used to the statistical evaluation ((χ2, p≤ , 05%). The prevalence of overweight was 1,1 and 2,33 times higher in CDC application respect to the IOTF and the WHO references respectively. The prevalence of overweight was 2,1 times higher in IOTF application respect to the WHO references (p=, 00001). The prevalence of obesity was 5,4 and 23,9 times higher in CDC application respect to the IOTF and the WHO references respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 4,4 times higher in IOTF application respect to the WHO references (p=, 0000001). The prevalence of overweight and obesity, calculated through the BMI, differs substantially according to the reference and cut-off points used. In the absence of even a single criterion, each of the references should be used with care.
