Pediatricians are some of the nicest people in medicine.
And some of the busiest.
Few take the time to measure Body Mass Index (BMI) in kids.
Very few.
But they should, because it is the best single way to tell if your kids is overweight, and at risk for obesity, diabetes, an enlarged heart and ridiculing at school, after school and before school.
Or for heart disease in adulthood.
BMI is just weight in kilograms divided by height in meters, squared.
A handy BMI calculator–for kids–is here, from the CDC.
Traditional growth charts and curves did not have BMI until the year 2000, when the CDC added them.
In a study presented in 2007 in Toronto, 397 patient charts from a pediatric practice were examined.
They were for kids seen in 2004 at an academic medical center. The kids were between the ages of 5 and 11.
Only 5.5 percent had their BMIs in their charts.
Only 4.3 percent had BMI written on their growth charts and curves.
Doctors-in-training were more likely than staff physicians to chart and plot BMI.
Ask your doctor how high is your kid’s BMI.
If your kid needs help, get help as a family: it’s the most effective help you can get.