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In children and teens, body mass
index is used to assess underweight, overweight, and risk for overweight.
Children's body fatness changes over the years as they grow. Also, girls and
boys differ in their body fatness as they mature. This is why BMI for children,
also referred to as BMI-for-age, is gender and age specific. BMI-for-age is
plotted on gender specific growth charts. These charts are used for children and
teens 2 – 20 years of age.
Each
of the BMI-for-age gender specific charts
contains a series of curved lines indicating
specific percentiles. Healthcare professionals
use the following established percentile cutoff
points to identify underweight and overweight in
children.
Underweight BMI-for-age
< 5th percentile
Normal BMI-for-age
5th percentile to < 85th percentile
At risk of overweight BMI-for-age
85th percentile to < 95th percentile
Overweight BMI-for-age
> 95th percentile
For
more information on these gender specific charts
contact your physician or local government
health centre.
Why
is BMI-for-age a useful tool?
BMI-for-Age is used for children and teens
because of their rate of growth and development.
It is a useful tool because
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BMI-for-age provides a reference for
adolescents that can be used beyond puberty.
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BMI-for-age in children and adolescents
compares well to laboratory measures of body
fat.
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BMI-for-age can be used to track body size
throughout life.
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