The BMI score for your child is best used as a tracking tool to monitor his or her growth over time and to screen for problems such as being overweight and obese.īecause infants and very young children are at a unique period of accelerated growth, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends using the BMI values beginning at two years of age and continuing throughout childhood. That is why it’s difficult to give a broad “healthy” weight range for all children-a healthy weight is individualized to the child. Since growth is evolving throughout childhood, the BMI calculator values for a healthy weight change as children grow. It’s important to understand that children grow differently from adults: the amount of body fat changes in childhood, and girls tend to have more body fat than boys, especially as children enter puberty. The weight status categories are: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. The BMI percentile reflects your child’s growth in comparison to other children of the same age and gender. This BMI percentile is compared to a set of standards for a child’s age and sex. From that result, a body mass index (BMI) percentile is determined. To calculate BMI, your child’s weight is divided by his or her height using a complex calculation. Your child’s BMI calculator is determined from a calculation that includes your child’s own weight compared to height. Your pediatrician will use this tracking tool, displayed as a growth chart, to assess your child’s growth when you visit for routine checkups. One of the best ways to keep track of your child’s growth is to follow the Body Mass Index ( BMI calculator) during growth. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.Do you wonder if your child is growing appropriately? If his or her body weight is appropriate for his or her height? Do you worry that he or she may be gaining too much weight? The CNRC is operated by the Baylor College of Medicine in cooperation with Texas Children's Hospital and ARS, the U.S. Monitoring a child's BMI percentile could help parents catch potentially unhealthy changes in the child's weight at an early age, so they could more easily make changes in the child's diet and exercise to correct the problem sooner. Parents should watch out for significant "drifting" in their child's readings, either up or down, when using the BMI percentile calculator over time, according to Shypailo. Roman Shypailo, an instructor of pediatrics at the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine and a CNRC body composition expert, is the project's principal architect. Therefore, a BMI percentile value has more meaning than just the BMI value. Unlike adults, the average BMI of children changes as they grow. Traditionally, the BMI has been used as a measure of body fat based on height and weight that has been applied to adult men and women. The new computer tool also plots the child's BMI percentile on a chart that is age-appropriate, giving parents an important aid for determining the proper weight for their child. A BMI of more than 25 is considered overweight. The CDC has provided BMI ranges for those at risk of being overweight. The BMI is a relationship between weight and height that is associated with body fat and health risk. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Children's BMI (Body Mass Index) and Percentile Graph Calculator provides a number that corresponds with a child's weight and height for age. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.Īgricultural Research Service scientists at the Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) in Houston, Texas, have developed an interactive computer tool to help parents keep their growing children's weight on track.īased on a revised growth chart from the U.S. This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only.
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