BMI - I think she's fine, but could you give me your opinions

[Areia]

My daughter is 2.5. She's an active little girl, we eat healthy and she gets all organic food. Everyone once in a while at my parents' house (they watch her while we work), she gets a treat. Not thrilled about that, but honestly it wasn't really bugging me since she doesn't get those at home.

She just had a well visit. Her height is 37 1/4 inches and she weighs 31lbs. Her BMI is 18.8 and she is considered overweight. You wouldn't think she is overweight by looking at her.

I'm going to make sure my parents are in line regarding the treats and maybe try to enroll her in some sort of activity (she gets most of her excercise from walking, running around the park and playing).

Do you think I should be very worried? I've struggled with weight all my life and its really a pain maintaining even now so it's a sensitive topic for me and I was trying very hard to give her a healthy start in life. My DH (who has always been thin, thinks I'm over reacting). Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks.

[limabean]

I don't think BMIs are particularly useful for toddlers, especially since they tend to grow up, then out, then up, then out, so their BMI could vary a great deal from one month to the next. I wouldn't worry. If you're giving her healthy foods and opportunities for active play, then her weight is probably right where it should be for her right now. If your parents watch her every day and are giving her lots of sweets daily, that could be something to mention to them, but if it's infrequent I wouldn't even worry about that.

As an anecdote that might help you feel better, chubby toddlers don't necessarily become chubby children, teens, or adults. My cousin was a major chunk (in an adorable way ) as a baby/toddler, but she slimmed down as a kid (just naturally, she didn't purposely do anything) and is now a beautiful adult at a perfectly healthy weight.

[plunky]

My opinion is that BMI is largely useless and over-referenced for adults. For babies, I can't even imagine why it would matter unless they were very undersized. If you go down this rabbit hole and start worrying about it this young, I'd be more concerned with making your kid overly conscious and self critical of their size than of any benefit.

Take a look at this: http://kateharding.net/bmi-illustrated/

[GoestoShow]

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Edited by GoestoShow - 1/11/11 at 10:51am

[minkin03]

i did a quick calculation on the growth chart and the stats you gave put her at 75th percentile for both height and weight which i think should be fine. i think it would be more of a concern if her weight was in the 75th percentile and her height in the 20th percentile. i'm by no means a doctor but she seems perfectly healthy to me.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

A BMI ON a toddler? I have never heard of such a thing, and can't understand hoa a scale (the bmi one) that is used for adults can be accurate OR useful for a growing toddler.

That said, you just described the size of my toddler boy. He is NOT overweight by any stretch!

[MeepyCat]

Who, exactly, considers this kid overweight? If it's the pediatrician, may I suggest that you find a new one?

BMI is not calculated the same way for adults as it is for children. I ran the numbers you give for your daughter through the Child and Teen BMI calculator on the CDC's site and came up with a BMI of 15.7, which they say over there is a healthy weight. If you want to check out the calculator yourself, it's here: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/.

I think that walking, running in the park and playing are the healthiest things your 2.5 year old could be doing. At that age, I would worry that more structured activities would actually encourage her to be *less* active - a dance or gymnastics or karate class would involve a lot of learning to share, follow instructions, and wait her turn. Those are all great things for preschoolers to get practice in, but they won't address her need for activity. And I think she needs activity because little kids need to let off steam and run around someplace where no one minds if they're loud. I wouldn't worry about your daughter's weight at all.

Edited to add that I agree with the mamas who have pointed out that BMI is a flawed and over-referenced tool. A recalculation, however, indicates that even by this metric, you shouldn't be worried.

[One_Girl]

If she is in the 75th percentile then she is not overweight. The percentile charts are for average heights and weights. 95th percentile is considered at risk and if she was off the chart at the high end then she would be overweight. It sounds like she is also a very tall child, the growth calculator puts her in the 81st percentile for height. Those things need to be taken into consideration for tall children. You expect a tall child to come in at a higher percentile just as tall adults typically weigh more than short adults.

You can check her percentiles here:
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/growt...ercentiles.htm

[sapphire_chan]

Um, according to the calculator I used, her BMI is 15.7, 41.7th percentile and a "healthy weight". And I know the height and weight aren't switched because if they were you would've said her BMI was 27.3 not 18.8

And really, BMI is a more useful tool for kids since they all tend to get lots of exercise. Having a child with a significantly different height-mass ratio than other children would make it worth looking at their activity level.

Which, in the case of the OP's dd is just fine. And that's reflected in her actual BMI.

(How on earth did they get 18.8 from your dd's measurements?)

[TiredX2]

I also got a much lower BMI with your numbers.

I would ask the doctor exactly what numbers they are using.

And, as far as I know, in children BMI is not supposed to "diagnose" anything, but rather indicate a possible risk, so even if your DD was in the 95th% she would be "at risk for overweight".

[minkleaf]

Ridiculous I say. Why would they even bring up bmi on a 2 year old? I say my 3 year old is square, she's 35" tall and 35 lbs heavy and she looks fine. Definitely active, she runs rather than walks. At her 3 year visit the Dr said she's 50% for weight and 15% for height but had no issues with it. She was born 9 lbs and only 19" tall so I think she's staying pretty consistent to body type.

[SeekingJoy]

My 4 yr old is 95th in height and weight and the doctor isn't concerned, although his BMI might be predictive of a possible weight risk. One look at him with his shirt off tells you he very muscular and physical, not at all overweight.

[Areia]

Thanks

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the reassurance -- I was going back and forth from eh, it's nothing to o no. I'm not going to stress about it and think I won't bother with the class for her. Although, given the results some of you have gotten with your own BMI calculations, I'm curious and think I will ask her doctor how they came up with these numbers. Thanks again.

[MeepyCat]

Areia, I have a guess as to how your doctor's office came up with the BMI numbers - When I entered your daughter's height and weight into the *adult* BMI calculator, I got a BMI of ~18 (I don't remember what was after the decimal). I think they did the calculation as though she was an adult.

[journeymom]

Yes, I hope you do follow up with the doctor and ask how they came to that conclusion, because that's really odd. Either there's a misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up or they messed up and that needs to be challenged.

[new2this]

I am with rest BMI in a adult is over used and not accuratly used most cases, and to use in a child is to risky because of the many growth spurts ect. BMI is a good indicator in adults however all other accounts have to be taken into consideration body fat % ect.

So in a child like yours I wouldn't worry and just keep what you are doing.

[*~Danielle~*]

I'm sorry you had this undo stress. I think Michelle Obama's campaign for childhood obesity is a noble thought, but what you just experienced is going to be the down side to it for a lot of parents and children. Your daughter is fine and healthy....but too many pediatricians are going to be nazi like about weight now because of the childhood obesity campaign. For the next few years, this will be something more and more of us will be confronted with. Warranted or not.

[gbailey]

I agree with the posters who said it seems like a mistake on the docs part. My friends daughter is 2 years old,38 inches and weighs 39 lbs and wasn't classified as overweight so I'm not sure why your DD would be classified that way.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by MeepyCat

Areia, I have a guess as to how your doctor's office came up with the BMI numbers - When I entered your daughter's height and weight into the *adult* BMI calculator, I got a BMI of ~18 (I don't remember what was after the decimal). I think they did the calculation as though she was an adult.

No, because 3' 1.25" at 31 lbs on the adult calculator still is 15.7

BMI is actually a pressure measurement in kgs per square centimeter. It's done the same way for everyone to create a number representing the height to weight ratio, what changes is what that number means. A 2.5 year old with a BMI of 15.7 is healthy, an adult with the same BMI is dangerously underweight.

HAH got it! They entered her height in both places. If you use 37.25 for her height (correct) AND her weight (wrong) then it's a BMI of 18.8.

[Tigerchild]

Originally Posted by One_Girl

95th percentile is considered at risk and if she was off the chart at the high end then she would be overweight.

Not if she was in the 95+ percentile for height.