DD now in overweight category. Should I be worried??

[Storminateacup74]

My DD is 11.5 and seems to be gaining weight rather rapidly. She is 147cm tall and 7st 7lb which just brings her into the slightly overweight category. She weighed 8lb 8oz when she was born and has always worn clothes a yr older than her actual age. All this weight watching is alien to me as my side of the family are all really slim but both my husbands sisters and his mum are overweight. Unfortunately for her all her friends are stick thin and look fab in their belly tops. She has a big tummy and is now putting weight on on her arms and face. However she isn't bothered one iota. She eats relatively healthily rarely has fizzy drinks has small portions at meal times but like anyone she does like biscuits and crisps and I have started to cut these down but as she is more independent now she does stop at the shop and buy a chocolate bar or if out with friends she will pop to mcdonalds. All her friends are really sporty one is a gymnast one swims for the county and the other two are good footballers unfortunately she isn't good at sport so she hates taking part in anything remotely competitive. But she walks to school everyday 2 miles and as a family we are constantly active , we walk everywhere and are always busy doing something. Like any pre teen though when at home she does enjoy watching you tube or being on her phone. She got a fit bit for xmas and everyday she hits at least 10,000 steps. However she does not care that she is slighlty overweight and maybe I shouldn't but the media make out having an overweight child is a sin. She wears her tight jeans and belly tops and doesn't care. Should I be concerned or let her be happy in her own skin which she is!! She has put on almost 2 stone since she was weighed in primary school 16 months ago.

[dementedpixie]

Had she started her period yet? I remember dd being podgy at that age but she has slimmed down since then

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

If she’s gained 2st has her height increased in that time too?

[Storminateacup74]

She has gained 8 cm in 14 months as well as being almost flat chested when she was weighed in year 6 and now wears double AA bras but has not started her period yet.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

So it’s good that she is getting taller too. Hace you tried plotting her centiles to see if she’s following them?

[Quartz2208]

It’s difficut because as long as she is happy you don’t want to give her a complex. But you can ensure healthy eating and promote exercise

[Storminateacup74]

She is on the 91st centile.

[AtlanticWaves]

Is there anyway to cut down slightly on the biscuits and chocolate ? My DS is 6 and in November moved into the overweight bracket despite being amazingly active (he exhausts us).

His case is he eats too much. Never sweets and chocolate cos he doesn't like them but he'd eat a big dinner, then 3 yogurts, and a banana, then cheese then bread....

We cut back on that, he grew 2 cm, kept roughly the same weight (actually lost a bit) and is now in the healthy range.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

Ok so she’s the 91st centile. Is that for weight and height? Has she always been on this centile? A centile number on its own is pretty meaningless. My DN is on the 98th for weight but she’s also on the 98th for height and she’s been on these since birth. She’s the same age as your DD.

[jhb2013]

I work with teenage girls (I’m a Housemistress and teacher at a Boarding school). Sounds like you’re doing a great job keeping your daughter, and whole family, active and healthy. Stick to it but don’t bother to address it with your daughter. It’s great that she’s happy to wear her clothes and not worry - this will not last forever as around 13 they become very interested in the peer group.
It’s likeky she’ll start her period in the next six months, as once they go over 7 1/2 stone this tends to kick in. Lots of girls put on weight, particularly on their hips, chest, bum and face at this stage. Once their hormones settle down they change shape again.
Keep getting out and about and limit the sweet treats but it’s not worth creating a complex over. If you make a big deal out of it now you don’t know where it will end and you’d kick yourself if in 9 months time your lovely daughter is obsessing about calories.