title: Body fat percentile curves for U.S. children and adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, several studies have been published outlining reference percentiles for BMI in children and adolescents. In contrast, there are limited reference data on percent body fat (%BF) in U.S. youth.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to derive smoothed percentile curves for %BF in a nationally representative sample of U.S. children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Percent fat was derived from the skinfold thicknesses of those aged 5-18 years from three cross-sectional waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) IV (1999-2000, 2001-2002, and 2003-2004; N=8269). The LMS (L=skewness, M=median, and S=coefficient of variation) regression method was used to create age- and gender-specific smoothed percentile curves of %BF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Growth curves are similar between boys and girls until age 9 years. However, whereas %BF peaks for boys at about age 11 years, it continues to increase for girls throughout adolescence. Median %BF at age 18 years is 17.0% and 27.8% for boys and girls, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Growth charts and LMS values based on a nationally representative sample of U.S. children and adolescents are provided so that future research can identify appropriate cut-off values based on health-related outcomes. These percentiles are based on skinfolds, which are widely available and commonly used. Using %BF instead of BMI may offer additional information in epidemiologic research, fitness assessment, and clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology and Recreation, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois 61790, USA. klaurso@ilstu.edu
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Laurson
authors.forename: Joey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Eisenmann
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Welk
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D057238:Growth Charts; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D012885:Skinfold Thickness