Question:
Any good sites for children BMI?

I was wondering about my twin 7 year olds BMI's. One of them is overweight, slightly. He doesn't appear to be obese, he's very muscular and strong. He is 4'2" and weighs 72 pounds. When I calculate his BMI with a child's calculator it says that he is overweight. This is no suprise to me. However, his brother is 4'3" and weighs 70 pounds. He is very slim with no fat whatsoever!! When I put his stats in, it says he was at risk for being overweight. WHAT!!!!! That seems incredible. He really is slim and almost skinny. Is there a site that anyone knows about that will give me an accurate picture? BTW- there only appeared to be 3 categories of results--overweight, at risk of being overweight, and underweight. What happened to average or normal weight?? Thanks for your help!! Shelley    — Shelley. (posted on October 10, 2003)

October 10, 2003
Why not contact your Pediatrician?
   — [Deactivated Member]

October 10, 2003
I would think there would be some web sites that could give you this info. You said your one son was very slim but there really isn't much height or weight difference between the two. Maybe they are just built a little differently? My oldest daughter turned eight last February and was 4'4" tall and only weighed 62 pounds...and even then she didn't look too thin. Our other daugther, who is more 'average' in size, turned 7 at the beginning of August and was 4'1/2" and weighed 55 pounds. Then there's our, almost six year old, son who truly is 'very slim', being 4' and 48 pounds. Needless to say, we can hardly keep the 6 or 7 slim, with an elasic waist on him without a belt. So, maybe it's all in the perspective?
   — eaamc

October 10, 2003
Just answering my own question, hoping to "recirculate" it. Thanks for your help. Shelley
   — Shelley.

October 10, 2003
If you use the BMI calculator at obesityhelp.com ( http://www.obesityhelp.com/KidsCalc.php ), which I see would give your 7 year old a BMI of 20.3. Now go to http://pediatrics.about.com/library/growth_charts/childrens_bmi_tables.pdf and check the chart there. Your child's BMI is in the 67 to 71 percentile for children his age. This is just about perfect for your son. Anything between the 5th and 85th percentile is considered normal. Your second son has a BMI of 19.0 and would be in the 70th percentile...again, normal. Hope this helped!
   — [Deactivated Member]