With concerns about childhood obesity on the rise, it's no wonder that parents and health care professionals look for ways to recognize kids at risk for carrying extra weight and the related health problems that come with extra weight. Body mass index, also known as BMI, is one method you can use to evaluate a girl's obesity risk.
Identification
BMI estimates the amount of fat in a girl's body based on her height and weight. Though it's not a direct measure of body fat, BMI is an inexpensive, non-invasive and easy-to-calculate first stage in evaluating body fat, explains the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult BMIs are measured as specific numbers, but BMIs for kids and teens are calculated and evaluated as a percentile ranking on BMI-for-age growth charts. A BMI that falls between the 5th and 85th percentile is usually considered a sign of a healthy weight for girls.
Significance
It's harder to pinpoint the specific meaning of a single BMI measurement for kids and teens than it is for adults. That's because girls in childhood and adolescence often experience sudden growth spurts that can cause their BMI to significantly increase. In some cases, though, a high BMI can suggest potential problems with weight. Your doctor keeps a record of your BMI over time to make comparisons and can follow up a troubling BMI calculation with other tests to let you know if you need to be concerned about your BMI measurement.
Prevention/Treatment
If your BMI is high, increasing your daily activity level may be one of the best ways to get it back into healthy range. BMIs higher than the 85th percentile correlated to high levels of sedentary activity in adolescent girls in sixth grade in research led by Charlotte Pratt at National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and published in the journal "Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport" in December 2008.
Considerations
Kids and teens have more body fat than adults, so you won't get an accurate BMI measure for a girl if you use a BMI calculator designed for adults. If you have concerns about your daughter's weight, talk to your pediatrician about the best way to evaluate her BMI.
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