Heights, Weights, and BODY MASS INDEXES
The most important part of being a proper weight is not looking a certain way, but feeling good and staying healthy. Having too much body fat can increase a person's risk for serious health problems. To help monitor your child's physical growth, heights and weights are done yearly on all students. As a part of our yearly screening, a student's height and weight will be used as a means of calculating a BMI (Body Mass Index) for a given age and gender.
BMI is a screening tool used to identify children who may be overweight or underweight. Young children naturally start out with a high percentage of body fat, but tend to get leaner as they get older. Girls and boys also have different body composiitions. This is why BMI for children, also referred to as BMI for Age, is gender and age-specific. BMI for age is plotted on gender specific growth charts. These charts are used for children and teens 2 - 20 years of age. For more information and to view the Center for Disease Control Growth Charts, visit the following web sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body.bmi_charts.html
To determine the percentile that your child falls into, use the appropriate gender Body Mass Index for Age chart which you will receive with your student's height, weight and BMI at your teacher/parent conference. Find the vertical number of your child's BMI on the left or right hand side of the chart. Follow it horizontally to your child's age. Determine the appropriate percentile using the curved plotted lines. The table below is taken from The Center for Disease Control's Growth Charts.
Underweight = BMI less than 5th percentile
Healthy Weight= 5th percentile to 85th percentile
At Risk of Overweight = BMI 85th percentile to 95th percentile
Overweight = BMI greater than 95th percentile
BMI readings will help parents watch a child's growth and development. It will help indicate if a child is growing and developing in a healthy way.
BMI is a screening tool used to identify children who may be overweight or underweight. Young children naturally start out with a high percentage of body fat, but tend to get leaner as they get older. Girls and boys also have different body composiitions. This is why BMI for children, also referred to as BMI for Age, is gender and age-specific. BMI for age is plotted on gender specific growth charts. These charts are used for children and teens 2 - 20 years of age. For more information and to view the Center for Disease Control Growth Charts, visit the following web sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body.bmi_charts.html
To determine the percentile that your child falls into, use the appropriate gender Body Mass Index for Age chart which you will receive with your student's height, weight and BMI at your teacher/parent conference. Find the vertical number of your child's BMI on the left or right hand side of the chart. Follow it horizontally to your child's age. Determine the appropriate percentile using the curved plotted lines. The table below is taken from The Center for Disease Control's Growth Charts.
Underweight = BMI less than 5th percentile
Healthy Weight= 5th percentile to 85th percentile
At Risk of Overweight = BMI 85th percentile to 95th percentile
Overweight = BMI greater than 95th percentile
BMI readings will help parents watch a child's growth and development. It will help indicate if a child is growing and developing in a healthy way.