Trends in the Prevalence of Morbid and Severe Obesity in Australian Children Aged 7-15 Years, 1985-2012.

OBJECTIVE:Children with severe obesity have greater risk of adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess trends in the prevalence of morbid and severe obesity in Australian children between 1985 and 2012. METHODS:Secondary analysis of four national Australian cross-sectional surveys of measured height/weight in 7-15 year olds: Australian Health and Fitness Survey 1985 (n = 8,486), National Nutrition Survey 1995 (n = 1,541), the National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2007 (n = 2,585) and the National Health Survey 2012 (n = 2,940). International Obesity Taskforce cut-point was used for morbid obesity (equivalent to a BMI ≥35kg/m2 at age 18 years). Severe obesity class 2 was defined as BMI ≥120% and <140% of the 95th percentile of the CDC 2000 growth charts or a BMI ≥35 and