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Categorías de IMC para niños y adolescentes

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a calculated measure of body weight relative to height. Because children and teens are growing, their BMI values are expressed relative to others of the same sex and age. These values are called BMI-for-age percentiles. Child and teen BMI categories are based on these percentiles, and include underweight, healthy weight, overweight, obesity, and severe obesity.

Text with illustration of the words: BMI - Body Mass Index

BMI categories for children and teens

BMI is a calculated measure of a person's body weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of their height (in meters). BMI categories for children and teens are based on sex-specific BMI-for-age percentiles (or BMI percentiles). Using percentiles to define BMI categories in children is important because they are still growing. Race is not a factor used in calculating BMI percentiles.

BMI categories for children and teens 2 through 19

Categorías de IMC
Rango de IMC
Bajo Peso
Menos del percentil 5
Peso Saludable
Percentil 5 a menos del percentil 85
Sobrepeso
Percentil 85 a menos del percentil 95
Obesidad
Percentil 95 o mas
Obesidad Severa
120% del percentil 95 o más,
o un IMC de 35 kg/m2 o más

The American Academy of Pediatrics1 uses an expanded definition of severe obesity:

Categorías de IMC
Rango de IMC
Obesidad de Clase 2
120% a menos de 140% del percentil 95, o un IMC de 35 kg/m2 a menos de 40 kg/m2
Obesidad de Clase 3
140% del percentil 95 o más,
o un IMC de 40 kg/m2 o más

What is a percentile?

Percentiles rank the position of an individual by indicating what percent of the reference population the individual equals or exceeds. Percentiles are the most commonly used clinical indicator to assess growth patterns of children.

Example: A 12-year-old girl who is 5 feet tall and weighs 136 pounds has a BMI of 26.6. On CDC's BMI-for-age growth charts, the girl's BMI is at the 96th percentile. That means her BMI is the same or higher than 96% of 12-year-old girls in the reference population used to create the growth charts. The girl's BMI falls into the obesity category.

BMI Calculator

CDC's Child and Teen BMI Calculator for people 2 through 19:

  • Calculates BMI, BMI percentile, and the corresponding BMI category.
  • Shows results on a growth chart and explains what the results mean.
  • Links to additional resources.
  • Is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

For people 20 and older, use CDC's Adult BMI Calculator.

Measuring Height and Weight‎

Accurately measuring height and weight is important to get correct calculations of BMI and BMI percentile. Follow these step-by-step instructions to measure children's height and weight accurately.

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Categorías de IMC en adultos
Definitions of BMI categories for adults aged 20 years and older.
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Fuente del contenido:
Acerca del índice de masa corporal (IMC)
  1. Hampl SE, Hassink SG, Skinner AC, et al. Executive Summary: Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obesity. Pediatrics. 2023;151(2):e2022060641. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-060640