CDC Extended BMI-for-Age Percentiles Versus Percent of the 95th Percentile

In December 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Extended BMI-for-age growth charts1,2 for children and adolescents with high BMI values. These charts extend to a BMI of 60 and add 4 growth curves (98th, 99th, 99.9th, and 99.99th percentiles). Obesity among children and adolescents is defined as BMI $95th percentile of BMI-for-age and severe obesity as BMI $120% of the 95th percentile or $35.3 The recent American Academy of Pediatrics guideline for the treatment of obesity recommends using percentages of the 95th percentile of BMI-for-age to indicate different levels of severe obesity.4 This analysis compares CDC extended BMI-for-age percentiles with 120% and 140% of the 95th percentile and illustrates the differences between the prevalence of US children and adolescents 2 to 19 years of age with a BMI $ extended 98th percentile using the newly defined curve and those $120% of the 95th percentile using 2017 to March 2020 National Health and Nutritional Examination (NHANES) data. Copyright © 2023 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.