Children and BMI

BMI, or Body Mass Index is one of the most widely used initial assessments in adults for determining if an individual is overweight or obese.

However, in children, this is different.

Here are the guidelines according to the CDC:

For children and adolescents (aged 2–19 years), the BMI value is plotted on the CDC growth charts to determine the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile.

• Overweight is defined as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile.
• Obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.

These definitions are based on the 2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States and expert committee.⁷ A child’s weight status is determined based on an age- and sex-specific percentile for BMI rather than by the BMI categories used for adults. Classifications of overweight and obesity for children and adolescents are age- and sex-specific because children’s body composition varies as they age and varies between boys and girls.

You can visit the CDC's website to see the growth charts and the child and teen BMI calculator for children and teens aged 2-19.