Determine Teenage BMI Using BMI-for-age Growth Charts

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Teenage BMI
Assess Your Child's Weight Condition

Teenage BMI is an established and reliable measure of relative body fatness in teenagers and children. The BMI index is used to determine a number that is calculated from your weight and height. For adults, this number directly indicates where you are in a range of body weight categories given your height – from underweight, to healthy, to overweight or obese.

For children and teens, however, BMI is age- and sex-specific and is often referred to as BMI-for-age. After you calculate the BMI value for children and teens, you then plot the BMI number on the CDC BMI-for-age growth charts (for either girls or boys) to obtain a percentile ranking. Percentiles are the most commonly used indicator to assess the size and growth patterns of individual children in the United States.

The percentile indicates the relative position of the child's BMI number among children of the same sex and age. The growth charts show the weight status categories used with children and teens (underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese). BMI-for-age weight status categories and the corresponding percentiles are shown in the following table.

BMI-for-age Percentile Ranges

Weight Status Category	Percentile Range
Underweight	Less than the 5th percentile
Healthy weight	5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile
Overweight	85th to less than the 95th percentile
Obese	Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile

To illustrate how the BMI values for teens and children are affected by age, consider the example of two boys with a BMI value of 23 plotted on the BMI-for-age growth chart below. One boy is 10 years old and the other is 15 years old.

teenage-bmi-image

As you can see, due to the different stages of normal growth at their different ages, the 10 year old boy is considered to be in the obese category while the 15 year old boy is considered to be in the healthy weight category with a BMI of 23.

This is a good illustration of why the BMI value cannot be used directly for teens and children to determine body weight categories. The BMI index must be used in conjunction with the established BMI-for-age growth charts to get an accurate picture of your child's weight condition for his or her specific age and gender.

It is important that you consult with your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s weight-related health.

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Teenage BMI Assess Your Child's Weight Condition

Teenage BMI
Assess Your Child's Weight Condition