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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be really annoyed with the NHS for their BMI checker?

163 replies

kw1986 · 10/05/2011 19:19

Now I know my 3yo DD is healthy so I was just checking out of curiosity to see what her BMI was. Shes 3ft 3in and weighs 3st 1lb... Put all the details in and up it pops saying she is OBESE purely because she's in the 99th percentile!! Since when the fuck does that make you obese???

If I work out her actual BMI number it's 19.4 which falls into the normal range (lower normal actually)

Now what if some parent who doesn't know this is a pile of shit actually thinks their child is obese and starts cutting down on food etc? Its made me quite irrationally angry really. They are the NHS for petes sake, surely they should know better. (Prob doesnt help for the entire first year of DD's life I had a stupid HV that kept telling me DD was too heavy despite being on the same percentile for her weight AND height, and also her head circ.)

AIBU to be so annoyed right now?

www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx

OP posts:
Original poster
kw1986 · 10/05/2011 19:20

Oops sorry www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx

OP posts:
fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 10/05/2011 19:27

Sorry, but children's BMI measurements are calculated differently and a BMI Of 19.4 isn't the same as it is for an adult

DesperateHousewife21 · 10/05/2011 19:27

It says mine is 17.3

Ive always been underweight but didnt think it was that bad.

DS is too little to have it done.

YANBU, the NHS in general is a bit turd but we should be grateful its free!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 10/05/2011 19:32

20-25 is the normal adult range but not the normal 3 year old range

Original poster
kw1986 · 10/05/2011 19:35

Why is it different for a child though. Surely the same maths applies. Confused But still my main point is that just because you are bigger than most people you're age doesn't make you automatically obese, does it?

OP posts:
fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 10/05/2011 19:36

www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=138367&ref=134567 is a childs bmi chart, for boys but closest I could find.

Sorry, just explaining it.

nobetterthanthat · 10/05/2011 19:41

It means her BMI is in the 99th percentile, meaning only 1% of children her age have a higher BMI, not a higher weight. I think children should have a BMI under about 15.

chicletteeth · 10/05/2011 19:44

Your daugher is over 10cm shorter than my son (who is also 3) and she weighs the same as him.
My boy is built like a tank and is very, very big compared with other children his age but there is not a spare inch of flesh on him.

Also, 19.4 for a child is obese, the calculations are different and so no, the same maths do not apply

YABU to be annoyed.

diabolo · 10/05/2011 19:47

I remember once, years ago, seeing the height and weight stats for Lawrence Dallaglio and he was morbidly obese according to the NHS BMI tracker.

What a joke!

chicletteeth · 10/05/2011 19:52

Yes clearly the above athlete has vast amounts of lean mass and so the BMI calculations don't apply to him. There are sectors of the population that the standard adult BMI calculation is not that great for; one of which is elite athletes.

Clearly, that rules out over 99% of the country then!

There was a thread on this recently, the upshot is, that everybody will always have their own set of cirumstances and so when assessing someones health you woudn't look at only weight and height etc.. you would look at other things and assess them as individuals. However, from an epidemiological level, BMI is mostly ok and the literature clearly shows that as it goes up (from 30 onwards really) there is a direct positive association with morbidity caused by weight related conditions.

Sometimes the truth hurts, but as a nation, we are getting very very fat and our kids are too.

chicletteeth · 10/05/2011 19:54

Waist circumference is also useful as it waist:hip ratio.
The whole idea that you shouldn't be able to pinch more than an inch (round the middle where the most dangerous type of fat accumulates) does hold some truth!

chicletteeth · 10/05/2011 19:55

as is waist:hip ratio

ladysybil · 10/05/2011 19:56

you cannot put a childs measurements ito an adults table. children are different creatures completely

colditz · 10/05/2011 19:57

19.4 BMI for a 3 year old isn't lower normal, it's very very high.

What you decide to do with this information is up to you. Your 3 year old weighs more than my 5 year old, and he's on the 65th weight centile himself.

ladysybil · 10/05/2011 19:58

children are built differently. an extreme analogy would be caterpillars and butterflies. children are still growing etc

colditz · 10/05/2011 20:00

And the centile chart isn't just based on her age, it's based on her age and height. She's heavier than 99% of children her age and height.

I can't see her, I can't tell you whether she's perfeclt healthy, you need to doctor for tht.

chicletteeth · 10/05/2011 20:01

Colditz was just about to point that out too.

missmyoldname · 10/05/2011 20:02

I entered some rough details (guessed exact age) on this website which gave the following results:

BMI Calculator for Child and Teen Calculate again:English | Metric

Information Entered
Age: 3 years 4 months

Sex: Girl
Birth Date: January 01, 2008 Height: 3 feet 3 inch(es)
Date of Measurement: May 10, 2011 Weight: 43 pounds

Results

Based on the height and weight entered, the BMI is 19.9 , placing the BMI-for-age above the 99th percentile for girls aged 3 years 4 months. This child may be obese and is likely to have health-related problems because of weight and should be seen by a healthcare provider for further assessment.

TechnoKitten · 10/05/2011 20:03

Your 3 year old weighs more than my 5 year old also.

Rough guide for child's weight is age+4 x2 - so she should be around 14kg. At 3st 1 she's 19.5kg which I would think is too heavy.

nobetterthanthat · 10/05/2011 20:05

She weighs more than my 5yo who is chunky and tall for her age.

colditz · 10/05/2011 20:05

Ds1 is on the 70th (up from 65th)centile and has a BMI of 16.6. He's in the healthy weight range but he's quite high on it and I'm waiting for a growth spurt, if one doesn't turn up I'm going to take more active management in his fat intake.

foreverondiet · 10/05/2011 20:06

I think YABU to come on here and slag this off without taking the time to understand what it means.

  1. Its percentile for BMI not for weight or height. So 99th percentile means that for all children her age, her BMI is 99th percentile. Some children will be shorter and lighter with same BMI.

  2. Are you a medical expert that you know that children have same normal reference range for BMI as adults?

I have the letter from when my DD was measured in reception (aged 5.5) - she was 3 foot 7 inches and 3 stone 1lb and on the 78th percentile and TBH she wasn't thin. If you calculate the numbers thats 16.3.

Clearly a BMI of 19.4 is obese for a 3 year old whether tall or short. Sorry.

BMI also doesn't work for athletes either.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 10/05/2011 20:06

My dd is 6 inches taller and weighs less

chicletteeth · 10/05/2011 20:06

technokitten you need something that takes into account height though too.

My boy is 3.5 years but is taller than most reception kids. He wears a size 13 shoe and has no wasted fat on his body at all! He is a monster Grin his predicted adult height is 6'6

HellNoSayItAintSo · 10/05/2011 20:06

Your 3 year old weighs more than my 7 year old. I don't think its the NHS you should be getting het up about.

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