Did you know BMI Calculators are different between adults and children? It turns out you need more than just the BMI (Body Mass Index) to screen your child for weight related health risks. You also need to determine their percentile.
So what is BMI?
BMI is an indication of the percentage of a person's body fat. BMI is just your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters. So if your child is 3 foot 10 inches (46 total inches or 1.168 meters, tall and they weigh 65 pounds ( 29.5 kg) then their BMI is 29.5 / (1.168 x 1.168) = 21.6. If you want to use English units instead just take their weight in pounds multiply by 703 and then divide by the square of their height in inches. So if they are 46 total inches tall and weight 65 pounds then you would take 65 x 703 / (46 x 46) = 21.6
What is percentile? How is it determined?
Percentile is the ranking of where your child stands compared to thousands of other kids the same age and sex as your child. So if your kid's percentile is 75 then their BMI is higher than 75% of kids their age and gender. Also their BMI is less than 25% of the kids their age and gender.
How is BMI and Percentile interpreted for children and teens?
For kids under 20 years old their BMI along with their age and sex is used to determine their percentile. Their percentile is then used to determine their weight class as follows.0 to <>= 95 is overweight
What is a healthy weight range for my child?
You can use either a chart specific for your child's age and gender to determine the weight for them to be at the 5th percentile and the weight for them to be at the 85th percentile. This wide weight range would be considered their healthy weight range.
When is this method of screening a child for weight related problems inaccurate?
1) This method is not valid for children < 2 or 20 years old or greater; 2) This method and BMI specifically is not accurate if the child is very athletic or muscular; 3) This method and BMI specifically is not accurate if the child is taller than 7 feet.
Why is childhood overweight considered a health problem?
Studies have established that overweight children and teens are more likely to become obese as adults. Being overweight doubles your risk of getting heart disease, the number one cause of death. Being overweight also doubles your chance of getting Type 2 Diabetes, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, and center types of cancers. Being overweight as a kid causes social discrimination which can lead to low self esteem as well as depression.
What causes obesity and overweight?
Our bodies are very efficient at saving as fat any excess calories we consume that are not used by our muscles. Thus there are only two ways to get overweight. Either you are ingesting too many calories for the amount of activities you are doing or the amount of activities is too small to use up the amount of calories you are ingesting. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are two reasons the problem is getting worse.
1) Global shift in diet towards increased intake of energy dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals, and micro nutrients. {Comment: We cannot blame the manufacturers of processed foods who have had to remove the vitamins, minerals, and micro nutrients in order to make their products last longer and they have increased the density of fats and sugars so will like the taste and buy their product.}
2) Trends towards decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization. {Comment: Many of us now drive our kids to school, or they take the bus when we use to walk to school. Also, no doubt urban life is much less active than rural life was in the past.}
So what is BMI?
BMI is an indication of the percentage of a person's body fat. BMI is just your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters. So if your child is 3 foot 10 inches (46 total inches or 1.168 meters, tall and they weigh 65 pounds ( 29.5 kg) then their BMI is 29.5 / (1.168 x 1.168) = 21.6. If you want to use English units instead just take their weight in pounds multiply by 703 and then divide by the square of their height in inches. So if they are 46 total inches tall and weight 65 pounds then you would take 65 x 703 / (46 x 46) = 21.6
What is percentile? How is it determined?
Percentile is the ranking of where your child stands compared to thousands of other kids the same age and sex as your child. So if your kid's percentile is 75 then their BMI is higher than 75% of kids their age and gender. Also their BMI is less than 25% of the kids their age and gender.
How is BMI and Percentile interpreted for children and teens?
For kids under 20 years old their BMI along with their age and sex is used to determine their percentile. Their percentile is then used to determine their weight class as follows.0 to <>= 95 is overweight
What is a healthy weight range for my child?
You can use either a chart specific for your child's age and gender to determine the weight for them to be at the 5th percentile and the weight for them to be at the 85th percentile. This wide weight range would be considered their healthy weight range.
When is this method of screening a child for weight related problems inaccurate?
1) This method is not valid for children < 2 or 20 years old or greater; 2) This method and BMI specifically is not accurate if the child is very athletic or muscular; 3) This method and BMI specifically is not accurate if the child is taller than 7 feet.
Why is childhood overweight considered a health problem?
Studies have established that overweight children and teens are more likely to become obese as adults. Being overweight doubles your risk of getting heart disease, the number one cause of death. Being overweight also doubles your chance of getting Type 2 Diabetes, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, and center types of cancers. Being overweight as a kid causes social discrimination which can lead to low self esteem as well as depression.
What causes obesity and overweight?
Our bodies are very efficient at saving as fat any excess calories we consume that are not used by our muscles. Thus there are only two ways to get overweight. Either you are ingesting too many calories for the amount of activities you are doing or the amount of activities is too small to use up the amount of calories you are ingesting. The World Health Organization (WHO) says there are two reasons the problem is getting worse.
1) Global shift in diet towards increased intake of energy dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals, and micro nutrients. {Comment: We cannot blame the manufacturers of processed foods who have had to remove the vitamins, minerals, and micro nutrients in order to make their products last longer and they have increased the density of fats and sugars so will like the taste and buy their product.}
2) Trends towards decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization. {Comment: Many of us now drive our kids to school, or they take the bus when we use to walk to school. Also, no doubt urban life is much less active than rural life was in the past.}
About the Author:
Author Dave Davis has written extensively on weight loss. For an online BMI-For-Age Calculator go to Child-Teen-BMI-Calculator. For more tips on how you can create your own perfect diet plan MyDietForWeightLoss.com
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