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Chart for boys Chart for girls |
Referring to the Hong Kong weight for age chart, a boy of 10 years weighing 50 kg is on the 97th centile, meaning that among 100 individuals of the same age same sex, he is heavier than 96. There are three others who are even heavier. The median weight at 10 years is 30 kg. So any weight above 30 kg x 120% = 36 kg is considered overweight. 50 kg is definitely overweight. Overnutrition brings about earlier maturation, therefore, overweight children are often taller than their peers of the same age. The height should be corrected before diagnosing obesity.
For such purpose, the weight for height standard is useful. If his height is 140 cm (75th centile), his weight for height would be just above the 97th centile which is 156% above the median weight for height. The cut off point for obesity is weight greater than 120% median weight for height. On the other hand, those who have weight less than 80% median weight for height may be considered wasted, a feature of protein-energy malnutrition, a very rare problem in Hong Kong.
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Chart for boys Chart for girls |
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