OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the body mass index cut-off points recommended by Cole et al and Conde and Monteiro in order to identify the excess of body weight in children. METHODS: The sample was composed of 585 schoolchildren aged six to nine years, from Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. The anthropometric measurements were body mass, height and subscapular skinfold, which was considered the gold-standard test to characterize the excess adiposity, using as the cut-off the 85th percentile of the National Center for Health Statistics reference curve. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of body mass index classification criteria, developed by Cole et al and Conde and Monteiro, were estimated. RESULTS: The overweight prevalence was 20.7 and 28.9%, respectively for Cole et al and Conde and Monteiro criteria. Regardless of age, the sensitivity of the national criterion was higher than the international one for males, with the extension of 53.3 to 100.0% versus 33.3 to 92.3%, and similar for females, ranging from 68.4 to 100.0% for both criteria. In contrast, Cole et al cut-off points had higher specificity than those of Conde and Monteiro in both genders, ranging from 87.3 to 98.4% versus 74.6 to 93.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Both criteria properly diagnosed overweight in Brazilian children. However, Conde and Monteiro criterion was more sensitive, resulting in fewer false-negative cases.
nutritional status; overweight; body mass index; sensitivity and specificity; adiposity; child health
