Obesity in children or adolescents

**Definition:** In infants, children and adolescents, BMI categories for defining obesity vary by age and gender based on WHO growth charts. Children 0 to 5 years have obesity if weight-for-length/height or BMI-for-age is above 3 standard deviations of the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.

Children aged 5 to 19 years have obesity if BMI-for-age is above 2 standard deviations of the median of WHO Growth Reference for School-aged Children and Adolescents.

**Long definition:** Obesity in children is associated with adverse levels of various cardiovascular disease risk factors (e.g., lipid profile disorders, insulin resistance, high blood pressure), the initial stages of atherosclerosis, and obesity and mortality in adulthood. Strong evidence supports obesity as the predominant correlate of cardiometabolic risk in adolescents, especially when the adiposity is centrally distributed.