There are four percentile rankings: Less than 5th percentile: Under
Body mass index (BMI)
A BMI of less than 18.5 suggests underweight. A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 suggests a healthy weight range. A BMI of between 25 and 29.9 may indicate overweight. A BMI of 30 or higher may indicate obesity.
underweight or possibly at risk for underweight
For very thin children who are growing and developing normally, eating a healthy diet, and are active and energetic, having a BMI-percentile-for-age below the 15th percentile should be considered normal -- some children are just thin.
In the panels representing children with CF of average stature, the prevalence of malnutrition as defined by BMIp < 10th percentile is also shown (gray lines) for comparison with the prevalence of malnutrition as defined by BMIp < 15th percentile.
These babies have birth weight below the 10th percentile. This means they are smaller than many other babies of the same gestational age. Many babies normally weigh more than 5 pounds, 13 ounces by the 37th week of pregnancy. Babies born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces are considered low birth weight.
In the 3rd percentile to below the 85th percentile is at a healthy weight. In the 85th percentile to the 97th percentile is at risk for overweight. Above the 97th percentile to the 99.9th percentile is overweight. Above the 99th percentile is obese.
What's the Ideal Percentile for My Child? There is no one ideal number. Healthy children come in all shapes and sizes, and a baby who is in the 5th percentile can be just as healthy as a baby who is in the 95th percentile.
A good measure of whether you are a healthy weight is the body mass index (BMI). This is calculated using your weight (in kilograms) and your height (in meters squared). For most adults, a healthy weight range is a BMI of 18.5kg/m2 to 24.9kg/m2. If your BMI is under 18.5kg/m2 then you would be considered underweight.
Earlier research has found that the most desired BMIs are approximately 18-20, considerably below the average or typical values of young women in well-fed populations.
Being underweight can be defined in a couple of ways. It can mean low weight for a person's height, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5. It also could be weight that is 15 to 20% below the typical weight for a person's age.
Women with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight. The average woman's height is 5 feet, 4 inches. If you weigh 107 pounds or less at this height, you are considered underweight with a BMI of 18.4. A healthy weight range for that woman would be 108 to 145 pounds.
When to Worry. If your child's growth rate slows down (weight, height, or head size) and she falls below two percentile lines, then you should explore the reason for the poor growth.
A review of studies and clinical data revealed that the lowest BMI value ever recorded in AN patients was 6.7 kg/m². On admission to hospital a 31-year-old woman had a body weight of 19 kg with a height of 168 cm.
A BMI above 40 indicates that a person is morbidly obese and therefore a candidate for bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery may also be an option for people with a BMI between 35 and 40 who suffer from life-threatening cardiopulmonary problems, diabetes, or other medical problems listed below.
under 18.5kg/m2 – you are considered underweight and possibly malnourished. 18.5 to 24.9kg/m2 – you are within a healthy weight range for young and middle-aged adults. 25.0 to 29.9kg/m2– you are considered overweight.
A baby on the 5th percentile for weight weighs less than 95% of other babies of that age. Put another way, if 100 babies of the same age were lined up from lightest to heaviest, a baby on the 5th percentile would be one of the 5 lightest babies.
Some babies may have low birthweight simply because their parents are small. Others may have low birthweight because something slowed or stopped their growth during pregnancy. Your health care provider measures your belly and uses ultrasound to help track your baby's growth during pregnancy.
A percentile rank score of 60 or above is considered above average. The National Percentile Rank score (NP) typically follows the Raw Score (RS) as you look across the page of an achievement test report from left to right.
To tell whether a young adolescent has a healthy weight, it can help to know the average for their age and sex. The averages for 12-year-olds are 89 pounds, for males, and 92 pounds, for females.