BMI Not Effective for Tracking Children's Exercise
BMI Not Effective for Tracking Children's Exercise
Using body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) to determine whether children are achieving exercise targets may not be effective, say British researchers who studied 113 boys and 99 girls over four years.
The researchers found no difference in BMI between children who got regular exercise and those who didn't, BBC News reported. However, blood tests for health indicators such as cholesterol levels and insulin resistance showed the children who got regular exercise were in better shape.
"BMI just doesn't pick up any differences in children -- it's just not a sufficiently sensitive measure," said study leader Professor Terry Wilkin, of the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth.
The study was published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
In adults, BMI has proven useful as a guide to overall fitness and the success of diet and exercise programs, but there's ongoing debate about its effectiveness in children, BBC News reported.
http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=617022
BMI is worthless.
You should measure body fat and use that as a measure of fitness.
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