Childhood obesity: measurement and risk assessment.

Obesity is a common nutritional disturbance in children, ranging from 18% to 30% in children of various ages. It is even more problematic among ethnically diverse populations. Because childhood is a critical period for the initiation of obesity, appropriate measurement and assessment of children at risk are essential. Current approaches to the measurement of fatness and classification of obesity vary in their accuracy and reproducibility. Measurement of body fatness in children and adolescents is most accurately estimated by combinations of measures.