Proper Bmi For Children. The expert committee recommended classifying bmi at the 85 th to 95 th percentiles for age and sex to identify children or teens with overweight, and a bmi greater than or equal to the 95 th percentile to identify children or teens with obesity ( barlow, 2007 ). In the 85th percentile to less than the 95th percentile are considered overweight.

For more information, see tips to promote healthy eating and physical activity for children and teens. The bmi must be compared against age and sex growth charts. The reason for these differences lies in the fact that children develop more muscle as they age and that boys tend to have more muscle than girls.
