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BMI Charts
For children 2-5 years, or up to 48 inches tall: (right-click on the chart and select PRINT, or SAVE)
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For children 5-12 years, or up to 66 inches tall: (right-click on the chart and select PRINT, or SAVE)
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Graphs for Determining and Monitoring Body Mass Index in Children
Instructions for Use
To determine Body Mass Index in Children:
The Portland Health Institute Body Mass Index Graph for Children (goldenrod color)
Select the side of the sheet that is appropriate for the child’s age ("Children age 2 – 5 years," or "Children age 5 – 17 years"), and label it with the child’s name, date of birth, and record number ("I.D.").
Measure the child’s weight and height.
In the labeled spaces on the chart near the top of the graph, record the current date, and the child’s current age, weight, and height.
Determine the child’s current Body Mass Index (BMI) by marking an "X" at the spot on the graph where the horizontal line representing the child’s current weight intersects the vertical line representing the child’s current height. The closest curved line is the child’s current BMI to the nearest whole number. [To estimate of the child’s BMI to the nearest tenth of a unit, look at the point of intersection (between the horizontal "weight" line and the vertical "height" line, and estimate its fractional distance (in tenths) from the lower-numbered curved line.]
To Monitor Body Mass Index in Children:
The CDC Body Mass Index for Age Percentile graphs
Select the sex ("Girls" or "Boys") that is appropriate for each child.
Mark the spot on the graph where the horizontal BMI line that represents the child’s current BMI intersects the vertical "Age" line that represents the child’s current age.
The curved lines show age-BMI percentiles. By definition, a child whose BMI is between the 85th percentile and the 95th percentile is at risk of overweight. A child whose BMI is above the 95th percentile is overweight.
© Portland Health Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
These charts were published in Pediatrics in February 2004. The following letter from Dr Frankel accompanied the charts:
To the Editor.¾
The purpose of this communication is to make the Portland Health Institute Body Mass Index (BMI) Graphs for Children available at no cost, as a service to children and to the pediatric professionals who care for them. It has become clear that the lack of an efficient and accurate way to determine children’s BMI’s can frustrate busy clinicians who are motivated to interpret and monitor children’s BMI’s with the help of the BMI Growth Charts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Portland Health Institute Body Mass Index (BMI) Graphs for Children were initially developed early this year for use by pediatric personnel in programs in three settings: Pacific University School of Professional Psychology, Cascadia Behavioral HealthCare outpatient facilities, and the Multnomah County Health Department’s Mid-County Health Center. Without having to rely on hand-held calculators, dedicated computers, or mechanical devices, users can determine a child’s BMI with precision by noting (or interpolating) the curved line nearest to the intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines marking the child’s weight (in pounds) and height (in inches). The front of each page is intended for use with children from age 2 to age 5, and the back for use with children from age 5 to age 12. Each side contains spaces for recording, on successive occasions, date, age, weight, height, BMI, and such comments as clinician’s name.
I would be happy to mail single copies suitable for duplication to interested clinicians upon receipt of a self-addressed, stamped envelope. To avoid fold marks, use of a 9 x 12 envelope (60 cents postage) is suggested; or a standard business envelope (37 cents postage) may be used instead. Alternatively, pads of graph pages (printed on goldenrod stock and pre-drilled with holes at sides and top) may be purchased from Portland Health Institute at cost.
HERMAN M. FRANKEL, MD
Portland Health Institute
3310 NW Savier Street
Portland, OR 97210-1937
