#CHILDREN'S BMI CALCULATOR SERIES#

The BMI Table is a static tool to help you estimate your patients' body fat. The BMI calculator uses Standard or Metric measures and is available in English or Spanish. The BMI Calculator is an easy-to-use online tool to help you estimate your adult patients' body fat. For more information about BMI percentile and growth charts for children, visit the CDC's Child and Teen BMI and NHLBI's We Can! web pages. A child or teen who is between the 85th and 95th percentile on the growth chart is considered overweight. A child or teen who is at the 95th percentile or above is considered obese. The growth charts use a child's BMI, age, and gender to produce a BMI percentile. Below are the equations used for calculating BMI in the International System of. It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle.īMI for children and teens, 2 to 20 years old, is determined by using a BMI table that compares their weight and height along with growth charts. BMI is a better indicator of excess body fat for obese children than it is for overweight children, whose BMI could be a result of increased levels of either fat or fat-free mass (all body components except for fat, which includes water, organs, muscle, etc.).It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build. Pediatricians must calculate and graph a childs BMI on a gender-specific chart at every well child visit starting at age.The higher the BMI, the higher the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and certain cancers (e.g., colon, breast, endometrial, and gallbladder).Īlthough BMI can be used for most men and women, it does have some limits: People who are obese (BMI of 30 or above) almost always have a large amount of body fat in relation to their height. People who are overweight (BMI of 25–29.9) have too much body weight for their height. This ratio of weight to height is known as the body mass index (BMI). For adults, a healthy weight is defined as the appropriate body weight in relation to height. This childs BMI-for-age is at above less than the 0 th percentile.

If you have any concerns please consult your local physician.ĭue to data available from the CDC, results can only be broken down into 3rd, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, 95th, and 97th percentile groupings.BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good measure of your patients' risk for diseases that can occur with overweight and obesity. Based on the information entered, the body mass index (BMI) is 0. These calculators do not measure body composition (this is usually done using skinfold thickness), and BMI is not a diagnostic tool. Children’s growth happens at all different ages and stages, so instead of straight BMI, for children it is often referred to as BMI-for-age. 34.6 kg).Īs children are still growing, a simple measurement of weight for height (as is BMI) is not appropriate. Enter an accurate weight (use 1 decimal place: e.g.Please measure height accurately (stand the child against a wall, mark where the top of their head is, and use a tape measure).

#CHILDREN'S BMI CALCULATOR SERIES#

The US CDC provides a large amount of growth charts that break down childhood weight and height data into a series of percentiles ( source). For example if you are above the 95th percentile, you would be in the top 5%. PercentileĪ percentile is a way of dividing a population into 100 equal groups. According to the CDC these categories were chosen by an ‘expert committee’. This allows you to check your childs weight against the overall population. The center black line indicates the 50th percentile (the 'average' BMI for this age).

Children's bmi calculator