Body mass index in Saudi Arabian children and adolescents: a national reference and comparison with international standards.
OBJECTIVE
Because there are no reference standards for body mass index (BMI) in Saudi children, we established BMI reference percentiles for normal Saudi Arabian children and adolescents and compared them with international standards.


METHODS
Data from a stratified multistage probability sample were collected from the 13 health regions in Saudi Arabia, as part of a nationwide health profile survey of Saudi Arabian children and adolescents conducted to establish normal physical growth references. Selected households were visited by a trained team. Weight and length/height were measured and recorded following the WHO recommended procedures using the same equipment, which were subjected to both calibration and intra/interobserver variations.


RESULTS
Survey of 11 874 eligible households yielded 35 275 full-term and healthy children and adolescents who were subjected to anthropometric measurements. Four BMI curves were produced, from birth to 36 months and 2 to 19 years for girls and boys. The 3rd , 5 th , 10th , 25th , 50th , 75th , 85th , 90th , 95th , and 97th percentiles were produced and compared with the WHO and CDC BMI charts. In the higher percentiles, the Saudi children differed from Western counterparts, indicating that Saudi children have equal or higher BMIs.


CONCLUSIONS
The BMI curves reflect statistically representative BMI values for Saudi Arabian children and adolescents.
Al Herbish
Abdullah S
AS
Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. asalherbish@yahoo.com
El Mouzan
Mohammed I
MI
Al Salloum
Abdullah A
AA
Al Qureshi
Mansour M
MM
Al Omar
Ahmed A
AA
Foster
Peter J
PJ
Kecojevic
Tatjana
T
D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014481:United States; D014944:World Health Organization; D055815:Young Adult
West Afr J Med. 2006 Jan-Mar;25(1):42-51
16722358
Stat Med. 1992 Jul;11(10):1305-19
1518992
Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Jul;70(1):126S-30S
10419415
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Sep;24(9):1093-6
11033976
Saudi Med J. 2007 Oct;28(10):1569-74
17914521
Acta Paediatr Suppl. 2006 Apr;450:56-65
16817679
Saudi Med J. 2007 Oct;28(10):1555-68
17914520
Arch Dis Child. 2000 Jan;82(1):16-20
10630903
Bull World Health Organ. 1977;55(4):489-98
304391
Ann Saudi Med. 2002 Sep-Nov;22(5-6):303-7
17146248
Vital Health Stat 11. 2002 May;(246):1-190
12043359
Ann Saudi Med. 1994 Nov;14(6):495-8
17587957
J R Soc Promot Health. 2006 Jan;126(1):41-6
16478016
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007;16(3):462-6
17704028
Acta Paediatr. 2003 Dec;92(12):1482-5
14971803
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1996 Nov;20(11):1000-5
8923156
Pediatr Clin North Am. 1993 Feb;40(1):23-40
8417407