Korean J Obes.  2011 Jun;20(2):65-74.

The Comparison of the Cut-Off Definition for Diagnosing Overweight and Obesity Among Middle and High School Students in Seoul

• Shin YA
• Shin YJ
• Park JK
• Park J

Abstract

BACKGROUND
There is still much debate on which standard cutoff value should be used for diagnosing adolescent obesity although various cutoff values have been used for assessing overweight and obesity in adolescents. This study compares the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents according to the different cutoff values.
METHODS
Subjects included 6,571 students from middle and high schools in Korea during 2008 until 2010. Degree of obesity, body mass index and percent body fat were measured. The sensitivity and specificity of the cutoff values of International Obesity Task Force, IOTF, the Working Group for Obesity in China, WGOC, body mass index, and 85th and 95th percentile of body fat were compared according to the degree of obesity, gender, and age.
RESULTS
The prevalence of overweight and obesity differed by gender and age. The IOTF cutoff value was the most sensitive in screening for the prevalence of overweight in boys. WGOC cutoff value was the most sensitive in screening for the prevalence of obesity in both boys and girls. It was also the most sensitive cutoff value for screening overweight girls.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of obesity varied depending on the different cutoff values. The WGOC cutoff value showed to be the most sensitive and specific in screening for obesity.

Keyword

Obesity cutoff; Obesity degree; IOTF cutoff; WGOC cutoff; Adolescent

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
Adolescent
Advisory Committees
Body Mass Index
China
Humans
Korea
Mass Screening
Obesity
Overweight
Prevalence
Sensitivity and Specificity