BMI Basics

As of this writing, most health care professionals in the US use the following indicators to define weight problems in teens.

Overweight: The BMI for a teen's age and gender is greater than or equal to the 95th percentile. For instance, a sixteen year old girl who is 5'3" and weighs 175 pounds would be in the 97th percentile; a sixteen year old boy who is 5'8" and weighs 195 pounds would be in the 97th percentile. Nearly 9 out of 10 of the teens interviewed fell into this category at their highest weight; 60 were in or above the 99th percentile before losing weight.

At risk for overweight: The BMI for a teen's age and gender is anywhere from the 85th percentile upto but not including the 95th percentile. For instance, a 16 year old girl who is 5'3" and weighs 150 pounds would be in the 91st percentile; a sixteen year old boy who is 5'8" and weighs 169 pounds would be in the 91st percentile. Just 7 of the teens interviewed fell into this category at their highest weight; none were below this category.

(BMI percentiles were not available for a small number of the teens at their highest weight.)