Group Urges Checking Children’s Body Mass

All children should have their body mass index measures evaluated yearly as part of efforts to identify and prevent obesity, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in its first-ever policy statement dealing solely with identifying and preventing the increasingly common problem.

While most pediatricians already track children’s height and weight, the new policy asks doctors to specifically measure body mass index, a height-to-weight ratio, to help them spot unusually rapid growth that might signal an increased risk of obesity.