Your body's transformation during your teen years may cause you to worry about whether your weight and height are normal. However, since everyone is different and since all teens are consistently changing, there is no single "ideal" weight or height that you should aspire to reach. What's more important is that you make healthy lifestyle choices so that your body fat percentage is in a healthy range.
Height and Weight Changes During Puberty
Although no one develops on the exact same timetable, the hormonal changes during puberty cause all teens to go through a rapid period of growth. Changes include height increases in both guys and girls, muscle development in guys and increased fat in girls. According to the Nemours Foundation, the average person may grow as much as 10 inches in puberty before reaching her adult height. Since some people start puberty earlier than others, two teens that are the same age may have entirely different height and weight ratios.
Assessing Weight
The body mass index, or BMI, is a formula physicians use to gauge a person's body fat based on his weight and height. Since adults are fully grown, they are given a BMI number and plotted on a chart that can immediately estimate whether or not they are in a healthy weight range for a person of their height. Children and teens, on the other hand, are subjected to a more specific formula called "BMI-for-age" because they are in different stages of development at different times.
Calculating BMI-For-Age
After a teen's BMI is calculated, the BMI number is plotted on a growth chart which gives the teen a percentile ranking, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These percentiles represent where that teen's BMI stands among other teens of the same age and sex. A teen who is under the 5th percentile is considered underweight, a teen at the 5th percentile to under the 85th percentile is considered a healthy weight, a teen at the 85th percentile to under the 95th percentile is considered overweight and a teen above the 95th percentile is considered obese.
Considerations
The BMI-for-age formula accurately indicates whether most teens are in a healthy weight range, the formula doesn't work for everyone. For example, an athletic teen with more muscle than most teens may be deemed "overweight" or "obese" by the BMI-for-age formula, or a teen with a small frame may be considered healthy even if she has a high percentage of body fat.
Screening for Problems
Your doctor may use BMI-for-age as a screening tool but the formula can't diagnose any health conditions. Further assessments, such as evaluation of your diet, your family history, levels of physical activity and a skinfold thickness measurement may be used to determine whether you are at risk for health problems. If a doctor determines that your weight is unhealthy, he may recommend dietary modifications and an exercise regimen that will help you grow into a healthy adult body.
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