Is being 140 ibs a lot for a 5 foot 2 inch 12 year old girl?

Answer 1

I am reluctant to go here simply because of the irrational focus on the weight of young girls whose self-esteem and body image are tied closely to their weight. That being said, there are several methods of calculating growth rates for children.

A twelve year old is most definitely considered a child.

Based upon growth charts jointly prepared in 2000 by the

National Center for Health Statistics and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion a girl, aged twelve years + 0-5 months, at a height of 62 inches/157.48 cm falls precisely at the 50th percentile. Placing this child in a position where 49% of girls her age are shorter than she; the other 49% are taller. The chart referenced can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1/chart08.pdf

Based upon growth charts jointly prepared in 2000 by the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion a girl, aged twelve years + 0-5 months, weighing 140 lbs/63.6 kg falls at the 96th percentile. Again, this could be interpreted to mean that 95% of girls of this age are of a weight less than 140 lbs./63.6 kg. The chart referenced can be found at:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/growthcharts/set1/chart04.pdf

To make a clear judgment, most practices utilize the body mass index as an indicator of normal or healthy weight. The BMI is a number calculated taking into consideration both the height and weight of an individual. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website offers a BMI calculator for children which can be found at: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx

A girl, aged twelve years + 0 months, at a height of 62 inches/157.48 cm, weighing 140 lbs/63.6 kg, has body mass index (BMI) of 25.6 placing this child in the obese range. This does NOT necessarily mean that this child is obese. The BMI calculator does not take into account heavily muscled individuals and/or athletes.

Based upon growth charts jointly prepared in 2000 by the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion a BMI of 25.6 places this child at the 95th percentile. The CDC advises that a child of this age, height, and weight should be evaluated by a healthcare professional. Additionally, the CDC warns:

"Children and teens should NOT be placed on a weight reduction diet without the consultation of a healthcare provider."

Quotation Reference: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/ResultGraph.aspx?age=144&gender=2&ht=62&wt=140&method=0&dob=January%2015,%201997&dom=January%2015,%202009&inchtext=0&wttext=0&pagetype=graph