BMI for Adolescents: Why CDC Recommends Growth Charts Over Percentiles
The Body Mass Index (BMI) estimates body fat based on height and weight. However, for adolescents—especially 15-year-olds—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends using age- and sex-specific growth charts rather than fixed BMI percentile ranges.
Growth charts account for the rapid changes in body composition during puberty, providing a more accurate assessment of growth and nutritional status than a single BMI cutoff.
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