Body Mass Index Children US

Results are classified according to the guidelines given by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Instructions:
1. Enter values for gender, height and weight.
2. The result is interpreted within four categories: Underweight (<5th percentile), Healthy weight (5th-85th percentile), Overweight (85th-95th percentile) and Obese (>95th percentile).
3. Please note, that BMI is only a very rough predictor for overweight in individuals.

For adults, the body mass index limits for overweight and obesity are straight forward (overweight = BMI > 25 and obesity = BMI > 30). For children this is much more complicated as the limits vary a lot depending on age. This calculator uses the US guidelines that are based on fixed percentiles from a large reference population. 

A BMI of 20 indicates obesity in a 6 year old girl, whereas it would represent healthy weight for a 13 year old girl. However, as growth of children varies, the final evaluation should always be based on a several factors including physical growth, muscularity and subcutaneous fat deposits.

References

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BMI - Body Mass Index: BMI for Children and Teens.

Mei Z, Grummer-Strawn LM, Pietrobelli A, Goulding A, Goran MI, Dietz WH. Validity of body mass index compared with other body-composition screening indexes for the assessment of body fatness in children and adolescents. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002;7597–985.

Hammer LD, Kraemer HC, Wilson DM, Ritter PL, Dornbusch SM. Standardized percentile curves of body-mass index for children and adolescents. American Journal of Disease of Child. 1991; 145:259–263.

Pietrobelli A, Faith MS, Allison DB, Gallagher D, Chiumello G, Heymsfield, SB. Body mass index as a measure of adiposity among children and adolescents: A validation study. Journal of Pediatrics. 1998; 132:204–210.