Parámetros de crecimiento y adiposidad corporal de adolescentes chilenos a través de la referencia CDC-2000 y CDC-2012: estudio ACECH* Growth parameters and body adiposity in chilean adolescents reference to the CDC-2000 and CDC-2012: ACECH* study

The aim of the study was to compare physical growth and body adiposity in Chilean adolescents according to the CDC -2000 and CDC- 2012 reference. A number of 19,970 students, between 14 and 18 years old, participated in the study. Adolescents belonged to the three units of the Chilean school education system. Weight, height and Body Mass Index were measured. The results indicated that Chilean students showed similar body weight, low height and high prevalence of overweight (28.3 to 32.5 %) according to the CDC-2000 reference. However, by the CDC- 2012 reference, results showed low weight and height, and consequently lower values of overweight (9.0 to 6.6%). We conclude that the use of a reference updates can cause confusion when analyzing the physical growth and body adiposity of Chilean adolescents. The results suggest the need for construction of a national curve which can be used to make the assessment of growth and nutritional status more reliably.