There is no accepted definition of underweight, overweight, or obesity for children <2 years of age.

  • For infants, BMI charts are used to screen for overnutrition and growth faltering, and are particularly relevant in term infants <6 months.
    • A comparative study of nearly 74,000 full-term infants found consistent agreement between BMI and weight-for-length from 6 months onward.
  • For preterm infants, BMI-for-age as a measure of disproportionality or as a proxy for body fat postnatally is not well established 
  • Charts
    • BMI-for-age birth to 2 years, percentiles (girls) (boys)
    • BMI-for-age birth to 2 years, z-scores (girls) (boys)

Last Updated

06/09/2022

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics