Body Mass Index Cutoffs for Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity in South Korean Schoolgirls

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Md.), 2005-09, Vol.13 (9), p.1510-1514
• Main Authors: Kim, Eunkyung, Hwang, Ji‐Yun, Woo, Eun‐Kyung, Kim, Sung‐Soo, Jo, Sangmee Ahn, Jo, Inho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; BMI; Body Mass Index; Body Weights and Measures - standards; Child; children; cutoff point; Female; Humans; Korea; Korea - epidemiology; Obesity - epidemiology; Overweight; Prevalence; Thinness - epidemiology
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1071-7323; 1930-739X; 1550-8528
• DOI: 10.1038/oby.2005.183

Objectives: To establish BMI percentiles and cutoffs for underweight, overweight, and obesity in South Korean schoolgirls. Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 1229 South Korean schoolgirls aged 8 to 18 years were randomly selected to complete a self‐administered questionnaire. BMI charts and cutoffs were constructed after analyzing data from 1107 subjects. Percentile curves were established by the modified LMS method. Results: The percentiles for underweight, overweight, and obesity corresponding to BMI of 18.5, 23.0, and 25.0 kg/m2 at age 18 were the 13.0th percentile, the 77.8th percentile, and the 91.2nd percentile, respectively. The corresponding prevalences of underweight, overweight, and obesity were 12.1, 12.5, and 9.8%, respectively. Discussion: We established for the first time, to our knowledge, new BMI cutoffs for ages 8 to 18 that corresponded to BMIs of 18.5, 23.0, and 25.0 kg/m2 for Asian adults designated by the International Obesity Task Force. These newly established BMI cutoffs might help to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Asian children.