What is BMI?
by Dr. Gina Boutwell, SSMC Pediatrician
When your child has his next check up at SSMC you may hear your pediatrician mention something called a BMI or Body Mass Index. The body mass index is determined using a calculation based on height and weight and is an indirect measure of body fat. For children between the ages of 3 and 20 years, this BMI is plotted on a chart based on the child's age and gender to yield a BMI percentile. A BMI percentile between 85-95% suggests the child is at risk for becoming overweight, and a BMI percentile over 95% is considered overweight. For people 20 and older, a BMI of 25-29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.
Childhood Obesity is becoming an enormous problem in our country today. Fast foods and sedentary lifestyles are creating more and more overweight children, and therefore more and more overweight adults. We are starting to see children developing major health problems like Type 2 Diabetes due to their obesity where in the past that was mainly an adult problem.
By encouraging your child to eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables, get at least an hour of exercise, and limit television, video games and computer time to less than 2 hours on a daily basis, you will be promoting a more healthy lifestyle. It is important to start these healthy behaviors at an early age to try to prevent obesity and major medical problems due to obesity.
If you have concerns about your child please discuss it with your pediatrician at your child's next well visit. If your child is overweight it may be necessary to screen him or her for things like diabetes or high cholesterol. For more information on BMI, obesity, proper diet and how you can intervene, please see any of the following websites.