Experts Urge BMI Method for Calculating Weight in Kids With Eating Disorders

For once, the experts got it right.

An exact determination of expected body weight for adolescents based on age, height and gender is critical for diagnosis and management of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, there are no clear guidelines regarding the appropriate method for calculating this weight in children with such disorders.

In a study to be published online Jan. 4, 2012, in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from the University of Chicago, the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center compared three common methods for calculating expected body weight of adolescents with eating disorders and found that the body mass index (BMI) percentile method is recommended for clinical and research purposes.

Forget "clinical and research purposes."

BMI is best since it relates to the likelihood of developing certain bad illnesses and it is accessible to just about everyone.

All that is needed is height and weight.

There is no need to enter the sick care system to determine it.

That last fact, alone, is reason enough to use it and love it.