Body mass index of children from the United Kingdom diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders

Background: The aim of the present study was to ascertain the Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg m(-2)) derived from parental reports of height (metres) and weight (kilograms) of a pilot sample of boys born and resident in the UK diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). Method: Analysis of parental reporting of height and weight measurements in boys (n = 50) diagnosed with PDD and comparison with age and sex-matched reference populations. Results: The majority of patients were above the 50th percentile for height (70%), weight (74%) and BMI (80%) with 21% exceeding cut-off points for overweight and 10% for clinical obesity. There were no significant differences (P < 0.05) found between PDD subgroups for any of the measures. Conclusion: Further studies are required to validate findings of skewed height, weight and BMI data in PDD.