Tracking of overweight and obesity from early childhood to adolescence in a population-based cohort – the Tromsø Study, Fit Futures

Table 2 Prevalence of weight classes^a in the study sample^b at three ages

Age (years)	Gender	Thinness	Normal weight	Overweight	Obesity	Gender difference^c
Age (years)	Gender	% (n)	% (n)	% (n)	% (n)	p-value
2–4	Boys	14.7 (41)	76.7 (214)	7.2 (20)	1.4 (4)	0.09
2–4	Girls	14.6 (37)	70.8 (179)	13.0 (33)	1.6 (4)	0.09
5–7	Boys	7.5 (21)	82.8 (231)	6.5 (18)	3.2 (9)	<0.01
5–7	Girls	10.7 (27)	71.1 (180)	12.6 (32)	5.5 (14)	<0.01
15–17	Boys	9.7 (27)	69.9 (195)	13.3 (37)	7.2 (20)	0.25
15–17	Girls	5.9 (15)	74.3 (188)	14.6 (37)	5.1 (13)	0.25

^aWeight classes is based on BMI according to the International Obesity Taskforce’s age- and sex-specific cut-off values in children 2–18 years: thinness: adult BMI <18.5 kg/m², normal weight: adult BMI ≥18.5- < 25 kg/m², overweight: adult BMI ≥25- < 30 kg/m², obesity: adult BMI ≥30 kg/m² [28]
^bA sub study of The Tromsø Study: Fit Futures N = 532: 279 boys, 253 girls
^cPearson’s Chi-Square tests for gender differences in weight classes were performed in a 2x3 contingency table with weight class overweight/obesity merged due to few obese participants
BMI body mass index

ISSN: 1471-2431