Using the Health-Minder Risk Assessment Tools
Body Composition Window is for ages 20-79 only

BMI  (Body Mass Index) has been found to be a good predictor of your risk for chronic disease. It compares the ratio of  your weight and height (squared) with the ratio for other people of your gender and in your age range.    Using Health-Minder's  BODY COMPOSITION WINDOW, enter your height and weight (use metric if you like), and press  Calculate.   Health-Minder will show you how your BMI compares with the ideal BMI for your age group.   But, be sure to measure your weight and height accurately.  Don't make estimates. A small difference in the
measurements can make a big difference in the results to be compared.

Another predictor of risk for chronic disease is body fat distribution.  A tendency to store fat above the hips, as most men do, is thought to be a higher risk for health problems than storing fat below the hips.  To assess the way fat is distributed on your body,  measure your waist and around the fullest part of your hips and enter these numbers (in inches or centimeters) in the BODY COMPOSITION WINDOW.  Health-Minder will Calculate  the ratio of waist to hips and show you where your ratio is located on a graph of high, moderate, and low risk norms by age groups.  Note that even if your BMI is within normal range, a bulge of fat around your waist can still mean you have some risk for one of these diseases.  If you are a person with a higher than ideal BMI (generally, a BMI over 25) and a high waist-to-hip ratio, your risk for chronic disease is magnified.  If you have too much body fat, and not enough muscle, exercise and moderate calorie restriction can help to improve your body composition.


BMI for Children
for children between the ages of 2 years and 20 years

The Body-Mass Index (or BMI) compares the ratio of a child's  weight and height (squared) with the ratio for other children of the same gender and in age in months.  BMI has been found to be a good predictor of the risk for adult obesity and for chronic
disease.    Using the BMI FOR CHILD WINDOW in Health-Minder, enter the child's height and weight (use metric if you like), and press  Calculate. But, be sure to measure weight and height accurately.  Don't make estimates. A small difference in the measurements can make a big difference in the results to be compared. 

In children, BMI provides a guideline based on weight and height to determine underweight and overweight. As children grow, their body fatness changes over the years. Additionally, girls and boys differ in their body fatness as they mature. The interpretation of BMI depends on the child's age.
In the United States, BMI declines and reaches a minimum around 4 to 6 years of age before beginning a gradual increase through adolescence and most of adulthood. The upward trend after the low point or dip in BMI percentile curves reflects what has been  described as the "adiposity rebound."

Children whose adiposity rebound begins at younger ages are more likely to have an increased BMI as an adult. Sixty percent of children and teens with a   BMI-for-age above the 95th percentile   have at least one risk factor while 20   percent have two or more risk factors for   cardiovascular disease.