Asking how much do you weigh, to a teenager. No problem.

Comments about teens who self report height weight and body mass index

An adolescent’s self-reported height and weight, is OK to use in calculating BMI and judging obesity. Their study found 96% of teens were correctly classified as obese or not obese, using the 95th percentile cutoff values of the CDC growth charts.

Neither teens or their parents are particularly accurate at judging a teens state of obesity. So, using Body Mass Index is much better.

Why did you make such a short review?

The thing that caught my eye, was using the 95th percentile to define obesity.

Why, what’s special?

Some academics use 85th percentile, which hurts the feelings of a lot of chubby kids. So 95th is better.

It’s less of a problem in 2014, than it was back in year 2000. For instance, I check the CDC webpage, and found the CDC is using 95th percentile to define obesity in children and teens. So that’s nice.