Differences in the prevalence of diagnosis of overweight-obesity in Spanish children according to the diagnostic criteria set used.

OBJECTIVE To examine relevant differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 2-15 years according to different sets of criteria (Orbegozo Foundation, International Obesity Task Force and World Health Organization), and how their use affects the trends in obesity recorded for both sexes between 1995 and 2011 in Spain. METHOD Cross-sectional study, a population between 2 and 15 years. Three diagnosis criteria of overweight and obesity were be used. RESULTS The boys according to the three criteria, showed higher values of overweight and obesity compared to the girls. The lowest levels of overweight and obesity were observed using the Orbegozo tables. DISCUSSION The prevalence of overweight and obesity varies significantly according to the criteria used to define overweight and obesity. The percentiles of the Foundation Orbegozo gave the lowest estimates and the standards of growth of the World Health Organization were higher.