Overweight in infants, children or adolescents

Description

Overweight is a condition characterised by excessive adiposity. Overweight is assessed by the body mass index (BMI), which is a surrogate marker of adiposity calculated as weight (kg)/height² (m²). In infants, children and adolescents, BMI categories for defining overweight vary by age and gender based on WHO growth charts. Children 0 to 5 years are overweight if weight-for-length/height or BMI-for-age is above 2 and less than or equal to 3 standard deviations of the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards. Children 5 to 19 years are overweight if BMI-for-age is above 1 and less than or equal to 2 standard deviations of the median of WHO Growth Reference for School-aged Children and Adolescents.

Exclusions from above levels

• 18 – Pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium
• http://id.who.int/icd/entity/1004987305 – Transitory endocrine or metabolic disorders specific to fetus or newborn