Food Fun and Facts Childrens Body Mass Index a Signal for Weight Problems
Your Child's BMI Could Signal Weight Problems
(NewsUSA)
- About 13 million children in the United States are overweight, and
nearly that many are believed to be at risk of becoming overweight. How
can you tell if your child is one of them?
The standard for screening for possible weight problems is
the body
mass index, also called BMI. In children and teens, BMI-for-age is
determined by comparing weight and height against a growth chart that
takes their age and sex into account. For example, a 13-year-old girl
who weighs 100 pounds and is 5 feet 2 inches tall is at a healthy
weight, but a girl of the same age who is 4 feet 7 inches tall is at
risk of becoming overweight.
"It's important that parents know if their child is
overweight or
at risk for overweight," said Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of the
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National
Institutes of Health. "Excess weight increases a child's risk of
developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic
conditions later in life."
The NIH's "We Can!" program (Ways to Enhance Children's
Activity
& Nutrition) recommends that parents ask their primary care
provider or pediatrician to regularly determine their child's
BMI-for-age to track changes that could signal excessive weight gain.
"We Can!" is a public education program designed to help
children
between the ages of 8 and 13 stay at a healthy weight through improving
food choices, increasing physical activity and reducing television and
recreational computer time.
What can parents do to prevent their children from becoming
overweight?
"The best way to have your child grow at a healthy weight is
to balance energy in with energy out," Nabel says.
"Energy in" is calories consumed from food and beverages, and
"energy out" is calories burned during physical activity. An easy way
for a child to cut energy in is to trade a bottle of regular soda for a
glass of water each day, and to increase energy out, go on a family
bike ride or hike.
For a free "We Can!" parents' handbook and other tools,
including
BMI-for-age growth charts, visit http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov or call
866-35-WECAN.
For information about healthy weight in adults, log on to
http://healthyweight.nhlbi.nih.gov.
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