CDC Sex-Specific Body Mass Index (BMI)-For-Age Growth Charts

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the opening of a docket to obtain public comment on the production of sex-specific body mass index (BMI)-for-age growth charts for children and adolescents aged 2-19 years specifically designed for tracking extremely high values of BMI. The 2000 CDC growth charts include sex-specific BMI-for-age percentile charts based on data representative of the United States (US) population from the National Health Examination Survey (NHES) and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In US children and adolescents, obesity is defined as at or above the sex-specific 95th percentile on the CDC BMI- for-age growth charts. Severe obesity is often defined as at or above 120% of the sex-specific 95th percentile on the CDC BMI-for-age growth charts. Currently, the highest percentile displayed is the 97th percentile. Therefore, it is difficult to assess changes in weight status in children with very high BMIs that exceed this level. The new charts will provide additional lines representing 120%, 130%, 140%, and 150% of the 95th percentile. The intent of these charts is to provide a mechanism for documenting BMI percentiles for children and adolescents with severe obesity in both clinical and research settings.