Overview of BMI and Other Ways of Measuring and Screening for Obesity in Pediatric Patients

Charles Wood; Amrik Singh Khalsa

doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2024.07.002

Overview of BMI and Other Ways of Measuring and Screening for Obesity in Pediatric Patients

Pediatr Clin North Am. 2024 Oct;71(5):781-796. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2024.07.002. Epub 2024 Aug 1.

Authors

Charles Wood¹, Amrik Singh Khalsa²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Duke Center for Childhood Obesity Research, Duke University School of Medicine, 3116 N. Duke Street, Durham, NC 27704, USA. Electronic address: charles.wood@duke.edu.
² Division of Primary Care Pediatrics, Center for Child Health Equity and Outcomes Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH 43205, USA.

PMID: 39343492
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2024.07.002

Abstract

Despite a long history of advances in measuring body size and composition, body mass index (BMI) has remained the most commonly used clinical measure. We explore the advantages and disadvantages of using BMI and other measures to estimate adipose tissue, recognizing that no measure of body size or adiposity has fulfilled the goal of differentiating health from disease. BMI and waist circumference remain widely-used clinical screening measures for appropriate risk stratification as it relates to obesity.

Keywords: Adiposity; Air displacement plethysmography; Body mass index; Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; Hydrodensitometry; MRI; Measurement; Screening.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Body Mass Index*
Child
Humans
Mass Screening / methods
Obesity / diagnosis
Pediatric Obesity* / diagnosis
Waist Circumference