Diagnostic properties and cutoff points for overweight prediction through anthropometric indicators in adolescents from Caracol, Piauí, Brazil, 2011.

Objective: to assess the diagnostic criteria and propose cutoff points for waist circumference (WC), arm circumference (AC), leg circumference (LC) and waist/height ratio (WHR) for overweight prediction in adolescents.

Methods: a census with all individuals aged 13-19 years old (N=1,075) from the municipality of Caracol-PI, Brazil was carried out; overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) above one z-score, according to the criterion of the World Health Organization.

Results: the cutoff points (in centimeters) of WC, AC, LC and WHR for overweight prediction were, respectively, 76.