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Abstract
Background: BMI reference charts are widely used to diagnose overweight, obesity and underweight in children and adolescents.
Aim: To provide up-to-date national reference values for Austria.
Methods: A cross-sectional sample of over 14 500 children and adolescents (4–19 years) stratified by provinces according to age- and sex-specific population proportions was drawn via schooling institutions (kindergartens, schools and vocational colleges). The generalized additive models for location, scale and shape were used for a flexible estimation of percentile curves.
Results: Austrian boys and girls have higher average weight compared with previous prevalence data. BMI centiles matching BMI values at age 18 years, which are used for defining thinness, overweight and obesity in adults, were calculated. In Austria, using reference values as thresholds, ∼18% of boys and 12% of girls are overweight (with thresholds passing through BMI 25.00–29.99 kg/m2 in adults) and 5% of boys and 3% of girls are obese (with thresholds passing through BMI ≥30.00 kg/m2 in adults).
Conclusion: Overweight and obesity are common in Austria and their prevalence is increasing (using the same IOTF reference for international comparison). Up-to-date national BMI reference values are provided to classify children and adolescents according to the proposed overweight and obesity thresholds.
Acknowledgements
All authors planned the study and decided on the measurements to be done, in addition GH corresponded with the ministry, ML and MM did the measurements, AG and MS did the statistical analysis. The manuscript was written by MM, AG and PB and all authors reviewed the manuscript for scientific content and approved the final submitted and published versions. The authors thank Daniel Weghuber, Salzburg, Austria and Maria Fritsch, Vienna, Austria for scientific review and support. The authors thank Elise Langdon-Neuner for language editing of the manuscript. The sampling of the data was supported by grants of Merck-Serono Austria, data belong to the Austrian working group on pediatric endocrinology and diabetes (APEDÖ), part of the Austrian pediatric society (ÖGKJ).
Declaration of interest
The sampling of the data by ML was supported by grants from Merck-Serono Austria, AG and MS received grants for the statistical analysis from Merck-Serono Austria. The authors report no further conflicts of interest.