Energy balance
Global age-standardised mean BMI in children and adolescents increased significantly from 1975 to 2016, with obesity prevalence rising from 0.7% to 5.6% in girls and 0.9% to 7.8% in boys, while underweight prevalence decreased.
Track your child's growth using standard BMI percentiles for their age and sex, not just absolute weight. Recognize that both underweight and obesity carry significant health risks. In many regions, underweight remains a larger burden than obesity, so nutritional support should address both ends of the spectrum.
Global age-standardised prevalence of obesity increased from 0·7% (0·4–1·2) in 1975 to 5·6% (4·8–6·5) in 2016 in girls, and from 0·9% (0·5–1·3) in 1975 to 7·8% (6·7–9·1) in 2016 in boys; the prevalence of moderate and severe underweight decreased from 9·2% (6·0–12·9) in 1975 to 8·4% (6·8–10·1) in 2016 in girls and from 14·8% (10·4–19·5) in 1975 to 12·4% (10·3–14·5) in 2016 in boys.
Why this rating
Pooled analysis of 2416 population-based studies involving 128.9 million participants, using robust Bayesian hierarchical modeling.
Source
Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults
Leandra Abarca-Gómez et al. · The Lancet · 2017
DOI 10.1016/s0140-6736(17)32129-3
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