Food Finds Asia|Body Mass Index Facts for Kids’|Nutritional assessment of a child is as important as the medical assessment. If you have a child, so you must keep a check on its growth pattern from time to time. This will help you analyze either your kid is growing according to his age accurately or not. Any disturbance in his or her growth pattern can be detected at the very first step and can be cured at the initial stage as well. BMI calculator for kids is the tool that helps you in checking the kid’s recent body status and making plans for the betterment.
In other words, you can also say that BMI calculation is a measure of detecting kids’ malnutrition. Malnutrition includesnutrition as well as over nutrition. It is one of the best indicators of obesity. In the west, the prevalence of a child’s obesity is increasing day by day on the other hand, in the east;the child’s undernutrition is progressing. You can detect this issue at a very early stage to prevent nutritional issues.
Definition of BMI:
BMI is the abbreviation of “body mass index”. Body mass index (BMI) tells you about the body fat. It does not tell about the direct fat measurement but an indirect way to analyze body fat. Body mass index is not a diagnostic test but a screening tool. BMI calculation needs a special formula to calculate. The best BMI calculator for kids has the formula inserted so you can get the exact value from it.
To calculate the BMI generally, you will need the height and weight of the person. These values are then divided to get a value. There is a category of underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. With specific value ranges, you need to compare your calculated value with this category ranges and evaluate your body status.BMI interpretation rules are different for kids and adults so you must have complete knowledge of this before analyzing.
BMI for Kids:
Basically, body mass index is a tool for adults (greater than 18), but you can also use this parameter for kids and teens. For kids, the BMI calculation and their interpretation are slightly different than the BMI for adults. There are some charts designed by WHO and CDC that will help you in analyzing the status of a child. To calculate kid’s BMI, BMI calculator for kids demand the following data:
- Gender – gender is necessary to tell before calculation as the fat ratio of girls is different from boys. That’s why the ranges of interpretation vary as well.
- Age – different growth charts are made for different age groups, so it is necessary to specify the age.
- Weight and height – weight and height are required to feed in the formula and calculate BMI. Recent weight and height are required to mention. You have to take these measurements very carefully as these are the sensitive parameters. Remove heavy clothes and boots before taking weight measurements. For height measurement, ask a kid to stand still with head, neck, back, legs and feet straight joining to the wall. Three measurements are required to take for an average if you are a beginner.
Analyzing BMI for kids and the growth patterns is a very important task to do. Mothers are very possessive and caring for their children and always worry either their child is malnourished or healthy. So this BMI calculator for kids and growth charts can help them to track their child’s growth. In this way, they do not need to worry all the time if the child is growing in the safe zone.
BMI Calculator for Kids:
Calculate your child’s BMI through a child BMI calculator or BMI calculator kids. BMI calculator for children is a digital tool that you can use on any device either on a laptop or smartphone. This BMI calculator for child formula is easy to use as you just have to enter the child’s gender, age, recent height, and recent weight. It will provide your child’s BMI in a second that you can compare with the kid BMI chart. The kid BMI calculator is the tool that is mostly used by the nutritionists or pediatricians at their clinics.
They check and monitor the child’s growth regularly to analyze the growth pattern. When they find any alteration in the growth pattern, they will suggest some solutions regarding the main issue. A good diet and proper sleep is the thing that can change the malnutrition status of a kid into a normal and safe zone. Kids need nutrition-rich plus calorie-rich foods. Only caloric rich foods just provide energy for a short time; for a long time, kids need a nutrient-dense diet.
Interpretation of BMI for Kids:
Once you have calculated the BMI from BMI calculator for kids, then you will need growth charts to interpret the body status. You can get the growth charts from the internet easily. These charts consist of the BMI on the y-axis and age on the x-axis. You have to find the meeting point of these two parameters. Then you will find the percentile ranges there for which you have to check your meeting point falls in which category.
Less than 5th percentile is the area of underweight kids. From 5th percentile to less than 85th percentile is the area of normal or healthy kids. From 85th to less than 95th percentile is the area of overweight kids. Kids showing BMI for age values equal to 95th or greater are considered obese. Kids of underweight, overweight and obese status need nutritional suggestions and counselling to recover. Early assessment leads to prevention; otherwise, the confirmed diagnosis needs treatment.
Conclusion:
Be aware of your kid’s nutritional status by body mass index evaluation. BMI calculator for kids is the easiest tool to track the growth of your kid. You can measure body mass index from home as well. This will let you manage your kid’s diet and activity to keep him healthy and active. Stay healthy and keep your kids nutritionally and physically healthy. Nutritional assessment is the need of the hour in today’s world where people are becoming deficient and ill nutritionally.
