![]() ![]() Ilan Shapiro, chief health correspondent and medical affairs officer at AltaMed Health Services, agreed. “It is helpful to look at the trend of the BMI (as well as the height and weight growth curves) over time to see how things are changing.”ĭr. “BMI growth charts serve a role for overall growth tracking during childhood and adolescence, and can be useful to know when to screen for potential health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure,” stated Davis.īerger revealed they can also help doctors recognize emerging patterns. In some respects, the tool is certainly a helpful form of guidance. While BMI charts are widely used, they’ve also been greatly debated. As such, the CDC advises doctors can still use the old chart for children who are not considered obese. Only the upper end of the BMI scale has changed, with the categories of ‘underweight’, ‘normal weight’, and ‘overweight’ remaining the same as the previous version. Now we have a way to do this.”įurthermore, she added, the new charts “should give us more data for research in following these children over time.” ![]() Previously, she told Healthline, “there has been no way to accurately follow these children with higher BMIs. Elizabeth Davis, Pediatric Sports Medicine Physician at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. The changes will allow medical professionals to monitor children better, said Dr. However, in the new chart, Newton explained, “there are expanded categories of ‘obese’.” It has also extended to BMI measurements up to 60 - whereas, previously, only BMIs up to 37 were covered. “Everyone with a BMI over the 95 th percentile was lumped together in the same category of ‘obese’,” she told Healthline - despite the fact “there are levels of severity.” Paula Newton, a pediatric endocrinologist with the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital and assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Under the previous charts, it was difficult to categorize the severity of obesity,” said Dr. They are classed as ‘severely obese’ if their BMI is 120% higher than the 95th percentile. The previous iteration of the chart, released in 2000, was based on data collected between 19, when levels of obesity among children were lower.Īccording to the CDC, a child is considered ‘obese’ if their BMI is higher than 95% of kids of the same gender and age. For instance, if a child’s BMI falls within the 60th percentile, it means that 60% of kids the same age had the same or lower BMI score. Percentiles are a method of grouping and ‘ranking’ for easier comparison. “The chart data is plotted based on percentiles, and the healthy range for BMI changes over age,” Berger shared with Healthline. David, MD and Wholistic Pediatrics & Family Care. “Depending on where the child falls on the chart, a healthcare provider can quickly see if the child is underweight, in the ideal weight range, overweight, or obese,” explained Dr. This number is then compared to people of the same age and gender to gauge whether their overall body mass is considered ‘healthy’. These charts take the height and weight of an individual to create a figure. Karen Hacker, director of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said in a statement.īefore diving into the new changes, let’s take a quick look at what BMI charts are and how they work. “The new growth charts, coupled with high-quality treatment, can help optimize care for children with severe obesity” Dr. This measure comes as the CDC said that in 2018 more than 4.5 million children and adolescents in the US were reported to have severe obesity. The revised chart has been extended to cover higher BMI measurements. There are two charts, one for adults and one for children - and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced an update to the chart designed for those between 2 and 20 years old. ![]() Physicians have long used the Body Mass Index (BMI) chart to estimate whether an individual’s body composition and growth is ‘healthy’ compared to the wider population. According to CDC data, more than 4.5 million US kids and adolescents are considered severely obese.The new chart has been extended to cover higher BMI measurements of ‘severe obesity’.The CDC recently announced a revised version of the children and adolescent BMI chart.Physicians use Body Mass Index (BMI) charts to help assess and monitor growth in children.Share on Pinterest Johner Images/Getty Images ![]()
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