Because of the numerous advantages of using BMI-for-age to assess overweight in children and adolescents, expert committees and advisory groups have recommended BMI-for-age as the accepted measure.

  In 1994, an expert committee on Clinical Guidelines for Overweight in Adolescent Preventive Services was convened to advise Bright Futures: National Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents and Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services (GAPS) on the criteria for the identification of adolescent obesity. The committee recommended that BMI-for-age be used to routinely screen for overweight in adolescents (Himes and Dietz, 1994).

In 1997, a consensus panel recommended that BMI for age be used routinely to screen children for overweight. They also recommended cutpoints of between the 85th and 95^th percentiles to identify children and adolescents as at risk of overweight and at or above the 95th percentile to identify children and adolescents as overweight. (Barlow and Dietz, 1998).

Also, in 1997, an international conference convened by the International Obesity Task Force concluded that BMI is a reasonable measure for assessing overweight in children and adolescents worldwide. (Dietz and Bellizzi, 1999; Bellizzi and Dietz, 1999).

Dr. William Dietz discusses the rationale for the BMI cutpoints, the limitations and sensitivity of BMI-for-age. Dr. Dietz is the Director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and was a member of the various expert committees on obesity.