Percentiles, BMI, and Body Image: We're More Than Just a Number on the Scale.

A healthy body image is one of the most important things I want to teach our children. How they look at their bodies, how they view food, and how they value themselves more than how they look is so important. The medical community is guilty of causing issues with body image on how we sometimes report weight, percentiles, and BMI. The medical community doesn't take into consideration genetics and various body types when they come up with these "standards of health." On this episode, I welcome back Jessica Gust. She is a mother and Pediatric Dietician (@elementnutrition.kids on Instagram). We discuss when percentiles are helpful, how they should be used, why we both don't love BMIs, how we tie in eating habits to body image, and how we can create a healthy body image for our children. Tune in to learn so much on this very important topic. Remember to follow @pedsdoctalk and @elementnutrition.kids on Instagram to finish the conversation. Check out my weekly videos on child health & development by ⁠⁠subscribing to PedsDocTalk on YouTube⁠⁠ . Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠⁠⁠⁠ page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices