§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out his definition of obesity in children. [78429]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 31 October]: The simple classification of body mass index (BMI) for obesity in adults is not applicable to children. This is because the ratio of the rate of weight gain to height gain changes during normal growth, especially around puberty. Therefore, age and sex-specific reference data—centile cut-off points—are necessary to interpret the BMI measurement.
There is on going debate as to the most appropriate cut-off point to define obesity in childhood. Two different approaches are commonly used and both demonstrate that the prevalence of obesity is increasing in children in England.