Overweight or obesity in children is a serious health concern. Overweight children are more likely to have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. They also have to deal with social discrimination from their peers, which can lead to poor self-esteem and depression. What’s more, overweight kids have a higher chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.

But what does this mean? How do you know if your child is overweight? The best way to find out is to schedule a visit with your child's pediatrician or family doctor, who can tell you if your child’s weight is in a healthy range. But if you are concerned that your child may be overweight, there are some other ways you can assess your child’s weight.

Your pediatrician or family doctor will likely measure your child’s height and weight to monitor growth patterns during regular appointments. Most doctors use clinical growth charts to make these determinations.

The doctor will use your child’s height and weight to determine what “percentile” your child falls into according to an age- and gender-appropriate growth chart. A percentile will tell you how your child’s height and weight compare to a nationally representative group of children of the same age and gender. For example, if your child falls into the 70th percentile for weight, approximately 70% of children your child’s age and gender are at a lower weight than your child.

Clinical growth charts can be accessed at the National Center for Health Statistics website.

For children aged 2-20, BMI (body mass index)-for-age charts are a way to assess their weight in relation to their height. Since childrens’ and teens’ body fatness fluctuates as they grow, the cutoff points that adults use for BMI are not applicable to children. Instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed charts for assessing children’s BMI according to their age and gender. Like clinical growth charts, BMI-for-age charts indicate which percentile your child falls into.

BMI-for-age growth charts can be accessed at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website.

The CDC has established percentile cutoff points to help doctors and parents determine whether a child is of a healthy weight. Body composition (percentage of muscle and fat) can influence these numbers, but for most children, the following cutoff points apply accurately to children aged 2-20:

If your child is overweight, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests you do the following:

Be supportive. Make sure your child knows that you love and accept him at any weight. Listen to your child’s concerns about his weight and offer your support, acceptance, and encouragement.

Encourage healthy eating habits. Make an effort to keep a variety of healthful foods—fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and lean meats—on hand. Practice healthful eating habits such as eating breakfast everyday, eating fast food less often, and healthy snacking.

Encourage daily physical activity. Help your child get some exercise everyday. When it’s safe and feasible, let him walk to school, the store, or friends' houses. It also helps to encourage physical education in school, participation in extracurricular sports teams or classes, and to be active as a family.

Discourage inactive pastimes. Limit the time your child is allowed to watch TV, play video games, and surf the internet. Instead, help your child come up with fun alternatives to watching TV.

Be a positive role model. Show your child that you lead a healthy lifestyle by eating healthful foods and being physically active. This way, your child will be more likely to adopt healthy eating and exercise habits that will last a lifetime.

Seek help. Your doctor, local library, and local recreation or community center may offer information and programs that will help you manage your child’s weight. Seek help from these resources if you need it.

Last Reviewed June 2012