OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of three anthropometric criteria used in clinical practice to identify obesity among Brazilian teenagers. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 720 students, aged 14 to 19 years old, from public schools of Fortaleza. The body mass index was used to classify students' weight according to each one of the three criteria. RESULTS: There were disagreements among the three criteria to classify students' weight. Higher disagreements occurred during classification of weight among male students aged 16 years old (13.3%) and female students aged 14 years old (12.5%). CONCLUSION: The use of at least two anthropometric criteria can be a useful strategy to improve the identification and classification of teenagers with abnormal body weight.
Overweight; Anthropometry; Adolescent; Adolescent health
