Not everyone who is overweight realizes that they are overweight. Parents also often do not realize that their children are overweight. One easy way to get an idea of whether you should be concerned about your weight, or that of your child, is to check which BMI levels you and your child fit into.
Function
Body mass index, or BMI, is a screening tool that is used to determine whether someone has too much body fat. Because BMI does not measure fat directly, other assessments need to be done to make a diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.
Significance
BMI levels are an inexpensive way to get a general idea of whether you might be carrying too much fat. Tests that actually measure body fat levels accurately can be quite expensive, so this tool, which only requires height and weight, is an inexpensive screening tool. BMI is a fairly reliable indicator of whether you are overweight, according to the CDC.
Theories/Speculation
A study by David S. Freedman, Ph.D., and colleagues, published in Pediatrics in 2005, concluded that BMI in childhood is associated with BMI and obesity in adulthood. This means that children who are overweight are more likely to turn into adults who are overweight.
Considerations
Because normal levels of body fat vary by age and gender, children's BMIs are plotted on growth charts to determine what is normal, rather than using a set range as with adults. They also have growth spurts when they suddenly gain weight, especially near puberty, according to the Kids Health website, so you should check with their doctor if you are worried about their weight -- it might be normal.
People with large amounts of muscle will have higher BMIs that might put them in the overweight or obese range even if they do not have high levels of body fat, and those with small body frames might fall within the normal BMI levels even if they have high levels of body fat.
BMI Levels
If you are 20 or older and your BMI is below 18.5, you are underweight; between 18.5 and 24.9, you are a normal weight; between 25 and 29.9, you are overweight and over 30 you are obese, according to the CDC.
Children who fall below the 5th percentile on the children's BMI growth charts are underweight; those at or above the 85th percentile are overweight and those at or above the 95th percentile are obese, according to the Kids Health website.
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