Body Mass Index on children?!
Question:
Body Mass Index on children?
My younger brother (12, nearly 13) has a body mass index of 16.67, which is classified as underweight. My whole family are very against him being underweight-they are constantly trying to make him eat more and build up some muscles.
Does BMI work on younger children, so is this correct that he is underweight? (He's quite tall for his age, 5"2, well taller than most of his friends, and has quite a large bone structure, doesn't appear underweight or sickly)
And if he is underweight, he is not bulemic (sorry, i can't spell!) and eats much more than me, the same amount as my 16 year old brother in fact, and does sports about 3 times a week, if he is underweight, is there much i should do?
Thankyou.
Answers:
Body Mass Index calculators work accurately for all ages. If your parents feel that it is unhealthy for him to be underweight they should take your brother to a pediatrician. But first it would be good to find out if he takes any medications. Sometimes they can interfere with weight.