Tackling BMI.

This post idea has been sitting in my drafts folder for well over two months.  It’s a topic I’ve wanted to tackle but haven’t had the time to really dive into.  Well I’m home sick today with nothing but me and my stomach meds.  So today is the official day…BMI.  What is BMI?  Who thought of it?  Is it really an accurate measure of health?  How does it work for kids?  I hope to answer some of these big questions for you in my next few post.

FYI on BMI.

Before we start really digging here, some things about BMI you need to know up front:

• BMI stands for Body Mass Index.
• BMI is not the same thing as body weight.  You can’t step on a standard scale and figure out your BMI.   It takes height into account, not just weight.
• BMI is supposed to be a tool used by your doctor to determine whether you are at a “healthy weight;” whether you should gain or lose a few pounds, or stay just the way you are.
• The formula for BMI is [weight in lbs / (height in inches^2)]*703.  Math not your forte?  There are tons of BMI calculators online.  Try the one by the National Heart Lunch and Blood Institute.
• Here are the BMI categories:
  • Underweight = less than 18.5
  • Normal weight = 18.6-24.9
  • Overweight = 25-29.9
  • Obese = BMI of 30 or greater

There’s a kiddie BMI table.

It’s important to note that BMI calculations are different for children (with children being defined as 2-20 years old).  Researchers have created a special set of BMI numbers for this group called BMI-for-age.  It takes into account gender, height, age, and weight because kids have different body compositions as they grow and body fat differs between boys and girls.  The Mayo Clinic has a great child BMI calculator that you can use.  When using this calculator please note that:

• Child BMI is not a diagnostic test, it is a screening tool.  According to the CDC, further tests are needed to determine if a child really is overweight or underweight.
• Doctors recommend to not just look at a single BMI score for a child.  Children are growing and their BMI can change dramatically, even over a couple of months.
• The Child BMI formula produces a percentage.  A BMI percentile indicates the relative position of a child’s BMI number among children of the same gender and age.
• Here are the Child BMI categories:
  • Underweight = less than 5th percentile
  • Healthy weight = 5th -84th percentile
  • Overweight = 85th to 94th percentile
  • Obese = greater than 95th percentile

Seem a little complex?  Many agree, and it get’s a lot more complicated from here on out.  What kind of health games site would we be without at least attempting to explain it all?  Stay tuned–more to come!