Objective: To describe the percentile distribution of body mass index (BMI) in school adolescents, by gender and age, comparing them with international parameters.
Subjects and methods: The study included 8,020 adolescents aged 10-15 years from 43 schools in the city of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. BMI values of the study sample were distributed in percentiles and compared to international parameters (CDC, Must and cols. and Cole and cols.).
Results: Both male and female adolescents aged 10 to 14 years showed BMI cut-offs over the international parameters, especially in the P50-P85 percentile range. At the age of 15, the observed values were very similar to reference data; however, BMI values in the 95th percentile were much higher than international parameters.
Conclusions: The study results show how important it is to use adequate BMI values for Brazilian adolescents aged 10-15 since international parameters may not reflect the actual nutritional status of this group.