Childhood obesity, BMI calculators, and medical software--time for an upgrade?
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines for the management of childhood obesity recommend active screening of children aged 2-18 years, and intervention for those with a body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) above the 85th percentile for age and gender. However, guidelines and BMI for age percentile charts are not well utilised in the general practice setting. In addition, there is a tendency for clinicians and parents to visually underestimate body mass in children.
Jones
Kay M
KM
Department of General Practice, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria. kay.jones@med.monash.edu.au
Dixon
Maureen E
ME
Dixon
John B
JB
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software