Checking if Children’s Weight Could Cause Health Problems
2024-25 Edition
Why is it important to screen children for a healthy weight?
One in five children is overweight in the United States. It is the most common childhood health problem. Being overweight or obese is preventable and treatable. Obesity can lead to many lifelong physical and social problems including depression, eating disorders, diabetes, and heart disease.
How should doctors conduct healthy weight screening during childhood?
Doctors should determine your child’s “body mass index” or BMI. A BMI is one way to measure body fat and it is calculated based on your child’s height and weight. Your doctor should use your child’s BMI as a starting point to help you establish a plan for your child to eat a healthier diet and be physically active.
Talk with your doctor and health plan to find out what other services are available to help your child eat healthy, keep active and maintain a healthy weight. Many health plans offer more support and resources to help children stay well. These services for children and their parents may be educational materials (online and in print), classes or support groups, or phone counseling. Some health plans offer weight management programs. Others offer discounts to health clubs.
What do the stars mean?
The scores show how well each health plan did at making sure children, ages 3 to 11, had their body mass index (BMI) checked using their height and weight, when they had a visit with their regular doctor during the past year. A higher score means more children got the right care at the right time.
The scores are based on information from at least 30 health plan member administrative records in 2023. Some plans also use patient medical records, which are often more complete and result in higher scores. Plans that decide not to use medical records are likely to have lower scores.
Data Disclaimer
The data source for data for the Report Cards is Quality Compass® 2024 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Quality Compass® 2024 includes Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) data. Any data display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors. NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such display, analysis, interpretation, or conclusion. Quality Compass and HEDIS are registered trademarks of NCQA. CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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