Body mass index (BMI) measures body composition. It does this indirectly through a simple calculation relating height and body weight. It estimates body fat and does not measure it directly. BMI provides a valid tool to determine the likelihood...
If you're an adolescent wondering whether your weight is a good match for your height, the body mass index scale for teens gives you an easy, reliable way to evaluate your current numbers. BMI can be quickly calculated by dividing your weight into...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a healthy body mass index, or BMI, as between 18.5 and 24.9. Teens that fall either above or below this range may need to adjust their eating habits in order to improve their health. Teenagers...
Although not a direct measurement of body fat, the Body Mass Index, or BMI, is used to screen children and teens for possible weight problems. Unlike BMI calculations for adults, youth BMI is age- and sex-specific. Results are compared to the...
Teen bodies grow quickly, thanks to hormone changes that occur during puberty; however, you could be much smaller or larger than your friends at any given time but still be healthy. Since no one size or growth pace is standard for all teens, your...
A teen's body mass index is a ratio of his age, height and weight and is expressed as a BMI-for-age-percentile. According to "Introduction to Maternity & Pediatric Nursing," teenagers who rank in less than the fifth percentile are defined as...
BMI, or body mass index, is a calculation of your child's height and weight measurements. BMI helps determine body fatness and can indicate problems in growth or health. Keep track of the BMI annually for your child. Report any problems or...
One way for teens to gauge their weight against their peers is to calculate their body mass index. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this measurement, which takes into account height and weight, determines a person's...
Maintaining a healthy body weight is an important first step on the road to sustained health. With childhood obesity on the rise, body mass index, or BMI, is a useful screening tool to identify weight problems in kids and teens, according to the...
Avoid the temptation to lump teens in with adults when it comes to body mass index (BMI). While teens and adults are often comparable in size, an average BMI for an adult may not be the same as the average for a teen. Factors such as age and...
Childhood obesity is a widespread phenomenon in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2008 that 19 percent of children between the ages of six and 11 were overweight; as were 18 percent of teens aged 12 to...
No magic number exists as the ideal weight for all teens because no two people are shaped exactly alike. Some teens are tall and lanky while others are short and muscular. By plugging in weight and height, a teen can use a body mass index...
If you've done your homework, you already know that measuring just your weight won't tell you how healthy you are; taller teens should naturally weigh more than shorter teens and athletic teens often weigh more than skinny, sedentary teens....
Medical professionals use body mass index, or BMI, to gauge the amount of a person's body fat. It’s a simple, inexpensive method in comparison to underwater weighing or the caliper test. An adult’s BMI is calculated by plugging the...
If you are a teenager and you're concerned that you are overweight, you can calculate your body mass index to determine if your weight is healthy for your height. Being overweight or obese can lead to health problems if you do not change your...
Body mass index (BMI) is a reasonable estimate of body fat for teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BMI is calculated from a formula that uses a child's weight and height. Unlike the adult measurement of BMI, a...
Teens grow rapidly, but not on the same timetable. You may start developing more muscle, fat and bone at age 11 while a friend might not see many of those changes until she's 14. Because teens of the same age can be very different sizes, your...
With obesity and weight problems continually climbing, it's important to evaluate children for healthy body mass index before it becomes a problem. While they're only a starting point, BMI calculations are a simple way to determine whether your...
BMI stands for body mass index. This measurement is calculated from a person's weight and height, and is a reliable indicator of body fat for most individuals. While the BMI index does not measure body fat directly, it is still considered a...
You see peers of all shapes and sizes in the locker room and you can't help but compare yourself. Some are bigger, some are smaller, and many are just as self-conscious as you. In reality, no one weight is "normal" or "ideal" for all teens because...
Children grow and develop on different timelines, but most undergo rapid growth or growth spurts at some time, according to KidsHealth.org. Two children who are the same gender, height and age may have different weights depending on where they are...
Changes such as increases in muscle and bone mass cause normal weight and height gains in teen boys. However, teens' bodies change at different times, so at age 14 you may be the same height as a friend but weigh a very different amount. Your...
Lots of teens wonder how much they should weigh, but the answer isn't as simple as a single number. Teens come in so many different healthy shapes and sizes that two teens of the same age and sex may both be healthy even though they weigh...
Teen obesity is a problem that has been growing in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show that teenage obesity rates were only about 5 percent in the 1970s, but that rate grew by more than 20 percentage...
Between media bombardment of the genetically gifted to peer pressure and high school politics, physical attractiveness ranks high in a teen's priority list. Once the sole province of young girls, body consciousness now affects boys at an...
Maintaining a healthy weight in your teen years is important because it helps your body grow healthfully and mature into its adult body. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk of developing chronic conditions. Being underweight can...
Obesity is a significant health issue among youths, affecting as many as 30 percent of American children and adolescents, according to a 2008 report in the American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry. Excessive weight can lead to...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recommends calculating your Body Mass Index to determine whether you have the ideal weight for your age and height. Adults 20 years old and older can use one simple formula to calculate their...
No single weight is normal or healthy for all teens because teens have different body types based on their genes and they grow at different paces, according to KidsHealth, a part of the Nemours Foundation. However, you can figure out whether your...
