Health-care professionals use the body mass index, or BMI, as a simple way to assess the amount of a person's body fat. Unlike direct fat measurements, such as the caliper test or underwater weighing, BMI uses a height and weight calculation to...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 3 percent of children between the ages of two and 19 are underweight. Ruling out illness and malnourishment as causes for being underweight, the child may be going through...
Obesity among children is on the rise, and with increased weight comes risk for diseases like diabetes and heart disease, even for kids. A BMI chart shows a measurement called body mass index. This does not measure exact body fat percentage. BMI...
Body mass index -- or BMI -- is a measure of the amount of fat on a person's body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BMI is calculated by dividing your child's weight in pounds by his height in inches squared, then...
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...
While BMI does not measure body fat directly, it has been shown to correlate to direct measurements for most children and teens. Once BMIs are calculated, the values are plotted on BMI charts, which will give meaning to individual values by...
Children not only come in all shapes and sizes, but they all also grow and develop at different rates. While a normal height and weight for one child may differ from the norm for another, health-care professionals can still determine if a child is...
Body mass index, or BMI, charts can help you determine whether you're within a healthy weight range or if you're overweight. The BMI chart is broken down into three categories which consist of a healthy weight range, overweight or obese. Being...
Due to the disease risk factors associated with obesity, it is important to maintain a healthy body weight. Determine a normal body weight through methods including ideal body weight equations, body mass index (BMI) charts, height-weight tables...
In the short term, insufficient exercise can inhibit your child's physical development, causing obesity and leading to a number of lifestyle problems, such as poor sleep and depression. The long-term consequences are much worse. Obesity, which...
When you take your teen in for a check-up, the doctor will measure his height and weight. These measurements are plotted on a graph to determine where your child measures in relation to others his age. Your teen's ideal weight depends on sex,...
Doctors and fitness experts can use weight charts to help determine a normal weight for men. In addition to charts that contain only weights, many professionals consult Body Mass Index, or BMI, charts, as this measurement takes into account a...
While healthy weights for adults are set by body mass index (BMI) charts, healthy weight ranges are difficult to determine for children and teens. It is hard to state a "normal" weight for a 15-year-old, and more important to advise a healthy...
You can calculate if you carry too much body fat for your height by using a body mass index formula, called the BMI. Your BMI is just one indicator of whether you have a healthy amount of body fat. No single formula exists, however, to accurately...
During junior high, high school and college, a teen's appearance can play a huge role in her confidence and self-esteem. Along with wearing the right clothes and having a stylish hairstyle, most teens are also concerned about their weight. Before...
Being overweight or obese can lead to serious and even fatal conditions. High blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, infertility and even some cancers can be caused by being overweight and obese, according to the Harvard...
Pre-pregnancy weight is important to your ability to conceive and carry a child. Being either underweight or overweight can contribute to infertility. If you are able to become pregnant, certain health complications can arise as a result of being...
Body fat percentage charts are used to estimate the percentage of fat your body has based on certain factors. There are body mass index charts, or BMI charts, that use your height and weight to give you a number that tells you if you're...
An ideal weight range is a body weight that is healthy, safe, realistic and attainable for your height and body frame. Maintaining an ideal weight can offer benefits such as increased energy, fewer joint and muscle aches, better sleep patterns and...
Obesity is a major health issue for an increasing number of children in the United States, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. About a third of American children and teenagers were obese or overweight as of 2010, notes the American Heart...
According to Trust for America's Health, as of 2009 "the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states." Rates of childhood obesity were at about 18 percent in 2009. Being obese means that a child's body has too...
The issue of childhood obesity is a major focus of American news media and entertainment television, warning parents and youths about the long-term emotional, social and physical dangers of being overweight. While such measures are intended to...
There are numerous body fat scales in the market, and each of them works somewhat differently. Before using your scale for the first time, make sure you read the manual. Look for specific details or extras offered in that particular model, such as...
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...
Your body fat mass, or body mass index known as BMI, is a figure that is calculated using your height and weight. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, your BMI is considered an accurate indication of how much...
The healthy weight range for a child depends on the child's gender, age in years and months, and height. Children come in many shapes and sizes, and most fall within a normal weight range, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics....
The most accurate way to determine body density involves measuring fat mass, lean-tissue mass and bone density with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, commonly referred to as DEXA. Methods for determining body density include underwater weighing,...
With nearly two-thirds of Americans overweight, researchers continue to study the epidemic, coming up with varying results. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, studies throughout the 2000s found people who are overweight are at a...
Sophie Tucker, the famous songstress, "last of the red hot mamas," may have said it best... "Keep breathing!" That's the heart of a wellness program: keeping what you've got and keeping it strong. Wellness means keeping everything you were born...
