Your BMI, short for body mass index, is a calculation that compares your height to your weight. Health care workers commonly use it as a preliminary screening tool to identify people who may be above their recommended weight. Age is a significant factor in evaluating the BMI of children because their BMI can change so rapidly. Health care workers typically compare a child's BMI with those of other children in the same age and gender group to obtain a BMI percentile score.
Step 1
Weigh the child in pounds with a bathroom scale. Assume for this example that the child's weight is 92 lbs.
Step 2
Measure the child's height in inches with a tape measure. Assume for this example that the child's height is 52 inches.
Step 3
Compute the child's BMI in English units. This calculation uses the equation BMI = [weight / (height x height)] where weight is in pounds and height is in inches. The child, in this example, weighs 92 lbs. and has a height of 52 inches, so the child's BMI is [92 / (52 x 52)] = 0.0340 lb./square inch.
Step 4
Convert the child's BMI from English units to metric units by multiplying it by 703. The BMI, in this example, is 0.0340 lb./square inch, so the BMI in metric units is 0.0340 x 703 = 23.9 kg/m^2.
Step 5
Establish the child's BMI percentile score from the raw BMI score, age and gender. The Baylor College of Medicine provides the appropriate standard BMI charts for this purpose.
Assume the child is a boy 16 years of age with a BMI of 23.9 kg/m^2 for this example. The BMI chart from the Baylor College of Medicine shows that a BMI of 23.9 kg/m^2 has a percentile score of about 83 percent for boys who are 16 years of age.
Things You'll Need
- Bathroom scale
- Tape measure
- Calculator
- BMI chart
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