Can BMI be used for any age?
BMI can be used to track body size throughout the life cycle. (Among children and teens, BMI for age and sex is used, and among adults, BMI is used).
Is BMI the same for adults and children?
BMI is interpreted differently for children and teens, even though it is calculated using the same formula as adult BMI. Children and teen's BMI need to be age and sex-specific because the amount of body fat changes with age and the amount of body fat differs between girls and boys.
What is a normal BMI for a child?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, kids with BMIs between the 5th and the 85th percentiles fall within a normal, healthy range. However, if you're child's BMI is at the 85th percentile or above—based on his gender and age—he is considered overweight or obese, according to the CDC.
How do you calculate BMI for kids?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from weight and height (weight[kg]/height[m]²).
Why is BMI not used for children?
However, BMI does not estimate body composition and cannot differentiate between fat and muscle in children.
Why is BMI inaccurate for kids?
BMI is not a direct measure of body fat. Kids can have a high BMI if they have a large frame or a lot of muscle, not excess fat. And a kid with a small frame may have a normal BMI but still can have too much body fat. BMI is less accurate during puberty.
Is BMI the same for all ages?
BMI changes substantially with age. After about 1 year of age, BMI-for-age begins to decline and it continues falling during the preschool years until it reaches a minimum around 4 to 6 years of age. After 4 to 6 years of age, BMI-for-age begins a gradual increase through adolescence and most of adulthood.
Is BMI accurate for all ages?
For adults ages 20 years and older, BMI incorporates weight and height, but it does not take age or sex into account. A woman tends to have more body fat than a man with the same BMI. Likewise, an older person tends to have more body fat than a younger person with an equal BMI.
What Do The Numbers Mean?
- For adults, a figure between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered a healthy weight. For children, their BMI is expressed as a centile and compares their value to other children who took part in the NCMP. Children are considered underweight if they fall on the second centile or below, a healthy weight if they fall between the second and 91st centile, and ove...
The Limitations of BMI
- But BMI is not without its limitations. "It's a reasonable measure - but not entirely accurate. If you are super fit and have a lot more muscle than average, for example, you may be classed as overweight or obese," explains Dr Sally Norton, an NHS weight loss consultant. "And young children naturally have different body compositions to adults, so standard BMI measurement ca…
How Other Methods Measure Up
- When measuring an adult's BMI, their waist circumference can be taken into account as it is a good way of checking a person is not carrying too much fat around their stomach (this so-called 'intra-abdominal fat' is far more dangerous to your health than other types of fat). But this measurement is not routinely taken in children as it doesn't consider the child's height. However…