In recent decades, severe obesity among children in America has nearly quadrupled, experts said. The old scale, which went up to 37, has been in use for more than two decades, ...

The CDC's updated growth charts now allow for a classification of obesity in children that extends to a body mass index, or BMI, of 60, up from an index that had stopped at 37. The extended BMI ...

A child is considered obese if they reach the 95th percentile on the growth charts, and severely obese at 120% of that mark — or with a BMI of 35 or higher, according to the CDC.

Prior to the update, BMI charts for children ages 2 to 19 had been published in 2000 and were based on data from 1963 to 1980 when obesity rates in children were much lower.

For parents looking to keep their child healthy and physically fit as they grow up, a better understanding of their child’s propensity towards obesity could be helpful. Now, a new, simple ...

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials have revised a tool to track the rising cases of severe obesity among children who were previously off the charts. Updated growth charts released Thursday by the ...