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Prevalence of obesity in Irish adolescents

Obesity is a serious and complex public health issue that can have a significant detrimental effect on health. In adults the BMI cut-offs of ‡ 25 kg/m and 30 kg/m are widely accepted definitions of overweight and obesity respectively. However, in adolescents there is no standard method; thus highlighting the difficulty posed when making comparisons. BMI has been recommended for use in children and adolescents; however, as BMI varies with age and gender during adolescence, it is essential that ageand gender-specific BMI cut-offs be used in defining overweight and obesity. Data for the present investigation are from the National Teens’ Food Survey (NTFS), for which weight and height were measured in 223 males and 217 females aged 13–17 years who were randomly selected throughout the Republic of Ireland. BMI was determined by weight (kg) divided by height (m). As there are currently no BMI v. age reference curves for an Irish reference population, the UK 1990 BMI-for-age growth charts were used to identify the overweight and obese adolescent.