Defining overweight and obesity - children Obesity means having
too much body fat. It is not the same as overweight, which means
weighing too much. Obesity is becoming much more common in
childhood. Most often, it begins between the ages of 5 and 6 and
in adolescence. Child health experts recommend that children be
screened for obesity at age 6. If needed, they should be
referred to weight-management programs. Measuring body fat Your
child's mass index (BMI) is calculated using height and weight.
A health care provider can use BMI to estimate how much body fat
your child has. However, measuring body fat and diagnosing
obesity in children is different than measuring these things in
adults. In children: - The amount of body fat changes with age.
Because of this, a BMI is harder to interpret during puberty and
periods of rapid growth. - Girls and boys have different amounts
of body fat. A BMI level that says a child is obese at one age
may be normal for a child at a different age. To determine if a
child is over