weight-loss-methods Posted on 08/07/2016 By admin Reply email knowledge center home » obesity / weight loss » BMI » page 2 BMI in Children and Health Consequences of Being Overweight What is Obesity? Treatments For Obesity How to Lose Weight BMI (Body Mass Index) BMI Calculators and Charts BMI – Health Consequences BMI Limitations How is BMI used with children and teens? Girls and boys develop differently and have different amounts of body fat at different ages, so a child’s age is taken into consideration when looking at their BMI. For children and teens, BMI age- and sex-specific percentiles are used. The interpretation of BMI is both age- and sex-specific for children and teens. BMI-for-age growth charts take into account these differences and allow translation of a BMI number into a percentile for a child’s sex and age.2 Nearly 1 in 3 children or teens in the US are overweight or obese. Carrying extra weight as a child or teenager can pose significant health risks, both during childhood and into adulthood.14 Maintaining a healthy weight during childhood is especially important for heart health. Research shows that nearly 60% of overweight children aged 5-17 had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease and 25% had two or more. Also, obese children have an 80% chance of staying obese their entire lives. Heart disease, often caused by high blood pressure or high cholesterol, is not the only health risk of obesity. Childhood obesity may also lead to significant health problems, including: Type 2 diabetes Asthma Sleep apnea Psychological stress, including low self-esteem, caused by the social stigma of being obese. How to calculate BMI for children and teens BMI for children and teens is worked out the same way as for adults. However, the BMI number and age then needs to be located on a sex-specific BMI-for-age chart to indicate whether the child is within a healthy range. BMI-for-age chart by CDC for boys and girls 2-20 years Posted under: Normal Body weightTagged as: Normal body weight