BMI test helps detect overweight and obese children

Today's children are also racing to follow the busy pace of life. The morning and afternoon school days and evening classes make decent and nutritious meals more and more distant for children. If you observe your child gaining weight or if the doctor has previously diagnosed the child is overweight or at risk of overweight, you should take your child for a checkup as soon as possible.

What do you need to prepare when taking your baby for a checkup?

Your doctor will be able to ask you about:

Your child's history of overweight, has your child had a variable growth rate?

What makes your baby gain weight again? (eg due to illness, family crisis or medication);

Family history of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and kidney stones ;

Sleep problems, such as sleep apnea;

When did you realize your baby is gaining weight?

What efforts have you made to control the child's weight?

Do you eat harmful foods or have bad symptoms such as eating quickly, chewing poorly or overeating?

What is your child's diet or exercise history like?

Diagnose your child overweight or not with BMI method

Diagnosing an overweight child is not easy because a child's growth index varies greatly over time, as the amount of body fat varies between boys and girls.

One way to determine a person's weight status is the Body mass index (BMI). BMI is the relative index between a person's weight and height. A child's age and sex-specific BMI is called the age-specific BMI. The BMI is a development chart that was validated and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2000.

The child's BMI is compared with other children. For example, if your child's BMI is the 90th percentile (the number shows how much weight your baby is or how many other babies of the same age and sex) are 90th, that means that BMI is greater than the BMI of 89%. same age and sex as your child. The BMI classification by age has the following percentile:

Healthy weight: 5 - 84;

Overweight: 85 - 94;

Obesity: greater than or equal to 95.

What causes children to be overweight?

The causes of overweight children include Prader-Willi syndrome, hypothyroidism , Cushing's syndrome or some mental causes such as pressure, anxiety and eating disorders.

Your doctor will conduct a number of tests to determine these causes, such as:

Thyroid stimulating hormone or thyroid hormone tests to determine thyroid function;

Blood glucose test  to determine the level of sugar in the blood to check the possibility of a child with type 2 diabetes;

Urinary free cortisol test, blood cortisol test to determine the functional level of the adrenal or pituitary gland;

Overnight dexomethasome inhibition test aimed at investigating Cushing's syndrome. Increased adrenal function in the body increases the production of too much cortisol;

Testing lung functions, such as spirometry to check your child's ventilation, how long it takes for a baby to cycle that involves taking air into his lungs and expelling air. Also, check whether your child's lungs are able to take oxygen and release carbon dioxide well. This test will help diagnose if your baby has lung disease and find out the cause of the problem.

In addition, your doctor will ask about your child's medical history with medications that can cause weight gain, such as:

Antidepressants such as amitriptyline , desipramine (Norpramin®) and imipramine (Tofranil®);

Corticosteroids such as cortisone (Cortone®), hydrocortisone (Cortef®) and prednisone ;

Anti-seizure medications such as divalproex (Depakote®) and gabapentin (Neurotin®);

Ensuring a healthy diet as well as taking your child to see a doctor early and finding out why your child is overweight will help your child stabilize and stay healthy.