Advantages of using BMI for age for assessment of nutritional

status in Indian children

NORMAL CHILD

WASTED CHILD

SHORT CHILD

SHORT AND

WASTED CHILD

Children who are normal in height can have

Normal BMI Low BMI High BMI

Children who are short can have

Normal BMI Low BMI High BMI

Normal height normal BMI

Children who are tall can have

Normal BMI Low BMI High BMI

Normal height normal BMI

Children with normal BMI can be normal in height , tall or short

Children 1, 2 & 3 have low BMI. Children with low BMI can have normal height , be tall or short . They all require additional energy intake to ensure that they continue in their linear growth trajectory

1.Normal height

2.Short 3.Tall

4 Normal height & BMI

All these children have high BMI. Children with high BMI can have normal height , be tall or short They all require adequate physical activity to reach normal BMI

To sum up

A third of Indian children are born with low birth weight and length. Birth weight and length are important determinants of growth in childhood

Over the next two years there is further increase in underweight and stunting rates. About half of Indian children are short by current WHO norms. After first 2 years reversal of stunting is difficult.

Weight for age picks up lean children who are normal in height or those who are short and lean but misses tall lean children. Use of BMI for age helps us to pick up and provide additional food to all leanchildren irrespective of their height so that they continue to grow in their current height trajectory .

India has entered dual nutrition burden era; if weight for age is used as the criterion, many short children who are overweight for their height will be missed.

BMI for age will pick up all children who are over weight for their height and appropriate interventions initiated

Thus BMI for age is an index that enables early detection of both under and over nutrition in children because it takes into account the current age, gender, weight and height for assessment of nutritional status.

In Indian context of high stunting levels and emergence of dual nutrition burden, BMI for age provides a method for early detection and correction of both under and over nutrition

SKB