The body mass index, or BMI, is a basic estimate of body fat. Research has shown that having a high BMI is associated with diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. Individuals with a high BMI are encouraged to diet and exercise to maintain a healthy weight. It can be confusing, though, as even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have different standards for determining a healthy BMI in children/adolescents, adults and Asian populations.
BMI in Children
Children and adolescent bodies are rapidly changing. When trying to determine a healthy BMI in this age group, you must take growth patterns into consideration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has calculated age- and gender-specific BMI charts that compare children and adolescents to others in their age range. Each child is given a percentile rank, which is used to determine a healthy BMI weight.
Healthy BMI Percentiles
A healthy BMI in children and adolescents is defined as being between the 5th and 85th percentile of others in your age and gender group. If a child is below the 5th percentile they are considered underweight. A ranking between the 85th and 95th percentile is considered overweight. If a child or adolescent is above the 95th percentile they are considered obese.
BMI in Adults
In adults a BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in pounds by their height in inches squared. BMI categories for healthy weight, overweight and obese are 18.5 to 24.9, 25 to 29.9 and above 30, respectively. There are no age- or gender-specific determinants for a healthy weight, one limitation of using a BMI measurement. For example, an older adult may carry more fat than a younger adult despite having a similar BMI. Another limitation with using BMI is that it doesn't differentiate between fat and muscle mass. As a result, those with athletic muscular builds they can be misclassified as overweight.
Asian BMI Categories
Different BMI categories are used in Asian population because their bone density tends to be lower than that of white or black populations. Studies have also shown that Asians have a higher risk for disease at smaller BMI levels. The World Health Organization has developed the following categories for healthy weight, overweight and obese: 18.5 to 23, 23 to 27.5 and above 27.5, respectively.
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