Validity of a simplified screening instrument for assessing overweight children in a dental setting: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Obesity, with its rising prevalence among Canadians and its estimated cost of $2 billion annually in Canada, is no longer considered a cosmetic issue, but a major health issue that imposes a great burden on the healthcare system and economy. This cross sectional study aims to evaluate the feasibility of identifying the weight status of 6 to 11 year-old children in a university dental clinic using a simplified overweight screening instrument. METHODS: One hundred sixty eight healthy children were enrolled. Weight and height were measured and overweight/obesity status was assessed using two techniques: 1) the 2007 World Health Organization Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age reference Tables, 2) simplified overweight screening instrument without BMI calculation. Measures of overall, positive, and negative percent agreement between the two approaches were computed. RESULTS: The children’s average weight, height, BMI and BMI z-score were respectively 32.6 ± 9.5 kg, 133.8 ± 10.7 cm, 17.8 ± 3.2, and 0.4 ± 1.0. The overall, positive, and negative percent agreement between the two screening approaches were respectively, 89%, 100%, and 83%. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the feasibility and parental acceptance of weight, height and BMI measurement in a dental setting and evidence that supports the validity of a new simplified approach to assess children’s weight status without having to compute BMI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02637752. Registered 18 December 2015. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-017-0808-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.