Which chart is more appropriate to measure children's BMI?

• A. CDC charts
• B. International Obesity Task Force chart
• C. World Health Organization growth charts
• D. BMI percentile charts for adults

Answer: (A)

Interpreting BMI in children relies on age- and sex-specific percentiles because kids change as they grow. A chart that plots BMI by age for boys and girls and marks percentile cutoffs lets you see if a child is underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese. The CDC growth charts provide BMI-for-age percentiles specifically for children in the United States, making them the standard tool for screening and tracking growth in pediatric care. They reflect a large national sample and align with pediatric guidelines, so clinicians can classify weight status consistently. Other options use different reference populations or purposes: the World Health Organization growth charts are used internationally but have a different framework for BMI-for-age, the International Obesity Task Force charts aim to link childhood BMI to adult cutoffs and are less commonly used for routine screening in the U.S., and BMI percentile charts for adults aren’t appropriate for children because they don’t account for growth and maturation.