BMI data is obtained from each systems' electronic health record and combined into one database managed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. These data represent individuals who presented for routine care at one of the participating health care organizations, and had a valid height and weight measured. Overweight and obesity prevalence estimates are available for the 7 metro Denver counties, and for rural Prowers County. Estimates generated from the Colorado BMI Monitoring System may be linked with other data sources to identify contributory social and environmental factors.This feature layer represents childhood/youth obesity estimates only.DefinitionsCoverage: The total number of individuals in the BMI Monitoring System with a valid BMI divided by the total estimated population from the American Community Survey Population and Demographic Estimates produced by the US Census Bureau in the specified geographic area and age group.Obesity Children/Youth: BMI is calculated from height and weight and plotted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) male or female BMI-for-age growth chart to determine a percentile. Obesity is defined as a BMI at the 95th percentile or higher.Obesity Prevalence Estimates: Percentage of individuals with obesity based upon the total number of individuals with obesity in the specified geographic area and age group divided by the total number of valid BMI measurements in the same specified geographic area and age group.

Disclaimer

Obesity and overweight prevalence estimates are based on a convenience sample of people who presented for routine care at one of the participating health care organization. Therefore, individuals who receive care from a nonparticipating clinic, or have not had a routine health care visit between during the observation period at one of the participating health care organizations are not included in the sample. As a result, estimates may not be representative of overweight and obesity in the population.Adjustment: Direct adjustment was applied to create overweight and obese prevalence estimates that are representative population demographics at the census tract level. Raking, an iterative method of marginal weight adjustment, was used in each census tract to create sample weights based on gender, race/ethnicity and age, and these weights were used in adjusted estimates. Limitations regarding selection on based on a convenience sample still apply to adjusted estimates. However, race, gender and age-based differences in BMI between the sample and the population are controlled for in the adjusted estimates.Since not all organizations who provide routine health care to Coloradans are currently contributing electronic health record data to the system, there is limited data available for certain age groups and geographic areas. The numerator and denominator used to calculated percent coverage for a given geographic area do not completely align. Population estimates derived from the US Census Bureau include infants less than two years of age, and reflect a five-year average. In contrast, the total number of individual in the BMI Monitoring system excludes infants less than two years of age and accounts for three years of data.There is the potential for duplicate measurements within the system for individuals who present for care at multiple participating health care sites, which contribute data to the system.