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...
Children who are obese often become adults who are obese. Eating habits, along with your general level of physical activity, are patterns set in childhood. Your family and environment play an important role in developing your palate and food...
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...
More than two in three American adults and one in three children are considered obese, defined as having a body mass index of 30 or greater. Since the early 1960s, cases of obesity have more than doubled from 13 percent to 35 percent of adults...
The Arkansas state legislature stirred up a mixture of praise and criticism in 2005 when lawmakers passed a bill requiring school-based body mass index testing for children. Despite a tripling of childhood obesity since the late 1970s, many...
The American Academy of Pediatrics defines childhood overweight and obesity using BMI-for-age percentile in children and adolescents (ages 2-19). Overweight is defined as being within the 85th to 95th percentile range, while obesity is being...
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. The CDC reports that obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease like high cholesterol and high blood pressure....
Body mass index (BMI) is a relatively new calculation used to measure an individual's obesity through her weight-to-height ratio, but it's become popular in a short span of time. However, it has its flaws, since ideal height-to-weight ratios...
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...
BMI, or body mass index, is a simple ratio that can determine a child's healthy weight. It is important to note that BMI is not an indication of health. While the calculations are the same, BMI in children is much different than in adults, as...
For years, physicians have charted children's height and weight to determine if they are growing normally. Physicians can also use a body mass index (BMI) as an additional tool, which may aid them in determining if the amount of body fat is...
The Body Mass Index, or BMI, test for children and teenagers uses height and weight to calculate whether the child has a healthy amount of body fat for his age and sex, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Although this...
Body mass index, or BMI, is an indirect measurement of body fatness. It uses your weight in relation to your height to indicate whether you’re underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese -- although it's not perfect and can be...
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...
A child of any size and shape can be healthy. Two children of the same age may look completely different, though they are both in good shape. Physicians, to determine whether a child is growing well over a period of time, use growth charts....
Overweight and obese are labels applied to children and teens whose weight is considered excessive relative to their height, age and gender. Technically, according to the National Institutes of Health, overweight refers to excessive weight that...
Evaluating a child's BMI, or body mass index, can help to determine whether he is in a healthy weight range. Children who have higher BMIs that place them in the overweight or obese categories are at an increased risk for developing...
Because children's weight changes so quickly throughout their growth cycles, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) measures their fitness using the Body Mass Index, commonly referred to as BMI. Considering a child's BMI will allow a medical...
Body Mass Index, BMI, is an age- and gender-specific measure calculated from a child’s height and weight and used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems. After calculating BMI for a child, the BMI number is plotted on the...
The body mass index scale is used by many health care professionals as a means to quickly assess a person's weight. The objective of the BMI scale is to predict your percent body fat. Knowing your percent of body fat can help you determine the...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, body mass index is a factor in helping to determine whether or not a child is overweight for his height and age. More commonly referred to as BMI-for-age, this system of measurement is...
The National Institutes of Health characterizes coronary heart disease as a narrowing of the arteries supplying blood and oxygen to the heart. Also referred to as coronary artery disease, it develops when these blood vessels become damaged or...
National nutritional guidelines for healthy children have been developed by several governmental agencies and professional organizations. The "2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans" represents the United States Department of Agriculture's...
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...
In the past, doctors used height and weight charts to track kids' growth, and compare it to other children the same age. But now, doctors use a measurement called body mass index, or BMI, to help estimate how much body fat children have. By...
When it comes to childhood growth and development, it's difficult to speak in terms of average or normal, since kids, particularly adolescents, mature at such varying rates. Pediatricians long used height and weight measurement charts to get a...
Body mass index (BMI) is a numerical value calculated based on your weight and height. BMI indicates whether an adult male or female is underweight, overweight or within the normal limits. According to the American Heart Association, obesity is a...
Body mass index, or BMI, is an assessment of how healthy your weight is for your height.The scale alone, however, does not provide complete information about your health. Knowing your BMI does allows you to gauge your risk of developing chronic...
Obesity is one of the leading causes of death and disease in the United States. In 2008 it was estimated by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that approximately 16 to 33 percent of U.S. children and adolescents were obese. To...
