How old is bmi

Due to changes in weight and height with age, as well as their relation to body fatness, BMI levels among children and teens are expressed relative to other children of the same sex and age. These percentiles are calculated from the CDC growth charts, which were based on national survey data collected from to 4. Obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95 th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. For example, a year-old boy of average height 56 inches who weighs pounds would have a BMI of This would place the boy in the 95 th percentile for BMI, and he would be considered to have obesity.

For adults, BMI is interpreted as weight status categories that are not dependent on sex or age. It is difficult to provide healthy weight ranges for children and teens because the interpretation of BMI depends on weight, height, age, and sex. The prevalence of children and teens who measure in the 95 th percentile or greater on the CDC growth charts has greatly increased over the past 40 years.

Recently, however, this trend has leveled off and has even declined in certain age groups. To learn more about child and teen obesity trends, visit Childhood Obesity Facts. For children under the age of 2 years old, consult the WHO standards external icon. To determine whether the child has excess fat, further assessment by a trained health professional would be needed. For information about the consequences of childhood obesity, its contributing factors and more, see Tips for Parents — Ideas and Tips to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity.

In general, this is not possible. The interpretation of BMI varies by age and sex. So if the children are not the same age and the same sex, the interpretation of BMI has different meanings. For children of different age and sex, the same BMI could represent different BMI percentiles and possibly different weight status categories. Gavin, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is BMI? What Do the Figures Mean? The categories that describe a person's weight are: Underweight: BMI is below the 5th percentile age, gender, and height.

Healthy weight : BMI is equal to or greater than the 5th percentile and less than the 85th percentile for age, gender, and height. Weight: Lbs, Fraction. Weight decimal places allowed : Select Weight lbs. Height decimal places allowed : Select Height cm. Weight decimal places allowed : Select Weight kg. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address.

Email Address. What's this? Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Related Topics. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. Good habits learned now will last a lifetime. This puts your child percentile, which means your child is overweight.

Overweight is a point at which your child's weight is no longer healthy. This is serious. Although your child isn't yet overweight, work with your healthcare provider—and your child—to keep this from becoming a future problem. An overweight child may develop problems with self-esteem. And healthcare providers have found that overweight children are developing serious health problems such as diabetes early in life that do not develop in children of normal weight.

Overweight children tend to become overweight adults. Being overweight as an adult increases the risk for serious diseases such as stroke, heart attack, diabetes, arthritis, and some forms of cancer. So now is the time to teach your child healthy habits that will last a lifetime.