If you are a parent of a child age 2 and above you have undoubtedly heard this term at your child’s well child visit. What is the significance of your child’s BMI and why does it matter?
“BMI” is short for Body Mass Index. It is a number calculated by using standard data- the height and weight of your child- making it an easy and efficient way of calculating ones risk for being underweight, overweight or obese. BMI is a reliable indication of body fatness. It does have some limitations however… specifically it does not take into account percentages of body fat compared to muscle mass in any one individual. To do this one would have to use more complicated measures such as measuring skin fold thickness to determine percent of body fat. Therefore, though not perfect, the BMI continues to be an inexpensive and efficient method of screening children for weight categories that may lead to long term health problems.
When it comes to children who are still growing, BMI’s must be applied to normative growth charts in order to find out what weight category a particular child fits into. Also, keep in mind one point in time isn’t necessarily as important as an overall trend or change for a child. Below are the four weight categories based on BMI percentiles:
Underweight:
Healthy weight: 5th-85th%
Overweight: 85th-95th%
Obese: >95th%
Beginning at age 2, your pediatrician will begin to review your child’s BMI. If your child’s BMI is too low or high or is trending in one of those directions, it is important to review why that might be the case… perhaps there has there been a change in lifestyle or eating habits to account for this trend or even possibly a medical condition that needs to be further evaluated. In adults it is known that having an elevated BMI puts one at risk for hypertension, high cholesterol, type II diabetes, coronary artery disease (heart attacks), strokes, joint problems, sleep apnea and gall bladder disease. Our goal is to recognize this trend in children early enough to work with parents to build healthier eating and exercise habits that the child can carry with him/her throughout adulthood to reduce those risks.
More about BMI can be learned at the following reliable websites: www.cdc.gov and www.heathychildren.org.