Weight and body mass index (BMI): current data for Austrian boys and girls aged 4 to under 19 years.
BACKGROUND
BMI reference charts are widely used to diagnose overweight, obesity and underweight in children and adolescents.


OBJECTIVE
To provide up-to-date national reference values for Austria.


METHODS
A cross-sectional sample of over 14 500 children and adolescents (4-19 years) stratified by provinces according to age- and sex-specific population proportions was drawn via schooling institutions (kindergartens, schools and vocational colleges). The generalized additive models for location, scale and shape were used for a flexible estimation of percentile curves.


RESULTS
Austrian boys and girls have higher average weight compared with previous prevalence data. BMI centiles matching BMI values at age 18 years, which are used for defining thinness, overweight and obesity in adults, were calculated. In Austria, using reference values as thresholds, ∼18% of boys and 12% of girls are overweight (with thresholds passing through BMI 25.00-29.99 kg/m(2) in adults) and 5% of boys and 3% of girls are obese (with thresholds passing through BMI ≥30.00 kg/m(2) in adults).


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight and obesity are common in Austria and their prevalence is increasing (using the same IOTF reference for international comparison). Up-to-date national BMI reference values are provided to classify children and adolescents according to the proposed overweight and obesity thresholds.
Department of Paediatrics, General Hospital 'Barmherzige Schwestern' , Ried im Innkreis , Austria .
Michael
M
Mayer
Andreas
A
Gleiss
Gabriele
G
Häusler
Martin
M
Borkenstein
Klaus
K
Kapelari
Gerhard
G
Köstl
Michael
M
Lassi
Michael
M
Schemper
Klaus
K
Schmitt
Peter
P
Blümel
D000293:Adolescent; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012015:Reference Standards; D012016:Reference Values
Austria; BMI; GAMLSS; obesity; overweight; reference