How Much Should a 7-Year-Old Boy Weigh?
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Weight Impacts Health
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According to the National Center for Health Statistics a healthy 7-year-old boy should weigh between 45 and 60 pounds. Weights above 65 pounds or below 40 are cause for concern; weights above 70 pounds mean the child is obese. Overweight children are at risk for diabetes, heart disease, shorter life expectancy and low self-esteem.
Weight Alone is Meaningless
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Growth charts provide guidance only. For example, lower weights are healthy for boys of Asian extraction; heavier can be healthy if the child is tall or athletic. Too much focus on weight damages self-esteem. If a child appears healthy, is neither visibly malnourished nor obese, then precise weight is unimportant.
Bottom Line
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The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a better indicator than weight alone because it measures weight in relation to height. For 7-year-old boys, BMIs between 15 and 17.5 are normal; over 19 is obese. If you have concerns about your child's BMI, take him for a professional health check.
Related Searches
References
- National Center for Health Statistics: Growth chart: Boys 2 to 20 years
- American Heart Association: Overweight in children
- Body Positive.com: Children and Weight the Dilemmas
- National Center for Health Statistics: Growth Chart: Boys' Body Mass Index
- USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center: Children's BMI-Percentile-by-age Calculator
Resources
- Photo Credit weight image by julien tromeur from Fotolia.com
