To think it’s possible for child to be overweight BMI but not unhealthy?

Noone can be at the 100th percentile. It's actually a mathematical impossibility. So maybe she was 99.9th?

yes, I think they can. My daughter was 100 percentile at birth, is still 100 percentile now at 6 but is very very tall and lean!

I think its really difficult to use BMI with kids especially boys who tend to plump up for a couple of months and then grow like billyo for a while and stretch out. A friend of mine her son was constantly plump and then grew - her husband was a nightmare about it constantly on at her and her boy about being healthy and not overweight and yada yada yada forced runs with Dad and cycling etc didn't make a jot of difference. At 24 he is slim and doesn't cycle anymore with his weight at all, can eat anything he wants. Thankfully Mum acted as a buffer between them to offset the worst of it. It was then the same for her younger daughter who again is now a gorgeous size 8 at Uni and thriving.

Teach a healthy relationship with food I say

I didn’t see the picture but to put it in context my 8 year old is 32.5kg but 6-7cm taller. She’s been on the tall centile line since birth really and has had periods of putting on some weight before a growth spurt but currently is around 50th on the centile charts for bmi. She is by no means the thinnest child and has a bit of a belly before growth spurts. You can see in her swimming classes a lot of the other girls are thinner than she is but some are nearly a foot shorter so to be expected but you also see the tall skinny kids who are really tiny.

At 135cm I don’t think you can assume a higher weight for your son because of height because he isn’t mega tall.

No it really doesn’t work like that! There’s no probably about it; his BMI is over 90th centile.

Good try. I'm mixed race. You can tell if someone is muscular, skinny, in the middle, overweight etc. BMI is reliable for most people.

He looks like he is due a growth spurt but he doesn’t look at all overweight and sounds like he does lots of exercise and eats healthily. My child who is in a football academy is tall had a similar body at various points.

There are far too many woman on mumsnet with disordered eating. You know who I mean - the teeny tinies that eat nothing but massive salads and have “delicate wrists.” You appear to have a good number on this thread talking about flabby tummies and belly overhangs which aren’t there. I suggest you treat their advice with some caution because you could end up being quite harmful to your son but do speak to a doctor or your school nurse if you are concerned because you’re likely to hear from someone with experience and not someone addled with orthorexic views.

I have a high BMI. I am actively losing weight, but according to my BMI I am basically a sedentary beast.

No BMI is simply a weight to height ratio. It’s just numbers; it makes no judgment. The NHS site suggests taking more exercise to lose weight but if you’re already taking loads of exercise, that advice is not relevant to you. So you will only lose weight by changing your diet.

But they’re taller, which BMI takes into account. At my career peak I was 106kg which is about 16 stone, I’m 185cm which is just shy of six foot one which I think gives a BMI of 30. My team mates who were hitting 23 stone were all taller than six four and we were also carrying too much body fat.

BMI indicates whether the person is a healthy weight, no more, no less. Our weight is one aspect that contributes to our levels of health. As is quality of diet, amount of excercise we get, our genes and the environment we live in. This is why some OW people are healthier than slim ones, there are aspects of their health that balance the negative impact of their weight. In your sons case, his youth, if he has good nutrition and excercises, these are protective factors. There is a lack of agreement as to how much 'weight' BMI should be given in assessing overall health, which in all honesty, is mainly driven by people who prefer not to see it as important. You have some information about your sons overall health picture. If I had that information I would try to reduce his weight (or rather stabilise it so his height caught up) because I don't have sufficient expertise to be able to say 'it doesn't matter' when all official guidance would say that it does.

My sister wore Jane Norman. Their size 6, size 8 and size 10 were often the same size. She was so frustrated as she was a size 2 and at the time it was a battle to get anything from non-US brands.

Fat children front load their heights earlier (and end up shorter overall) so you can’t really use their height to justify their weight. Your goal should be to ensure he doesn’t gain any more weight. That means tidy up his diet / portions and ensure his activity levels are increased. A child that age should be getting 30-60mins of vigorous exercise everyday as a minimum.

I think she means that she has a small frame. The BMI ranges does take into account frame type - hence the broad range.
Two people of the same height but very different BMIs can be equally healthy - a low BMI doesn't mean you're healthier.

I look at my sons. One is slight like me, the other is broader like his father's side. If they had the same BMI one would be chubby and the other would probably look a bit unwell.

You’ve misread this if you think you’re in the healthy weight range. Less than 7 stone is underweight for a 5 ft 2 woman.

I got letters for all my dc saying they were healthy weights for 2 and underweight for one (she’s fine). Dc have no clue because I’m not a bad parent 🙄

I’m 5’ 2”. When I weighed 9st, I was a size 10. It’s irrelevant what my ‘body type’ is - whatever that means.

Most of them are about 14-15 stone though. Maybe the odd huge one (who will also look far).

They usually say if you can see their ribs that's a sign they're a healthy weight.

My bmi was normal at size 4 and overweight at a small 12 - I'm average height. At a small 12 a doctor looked me up and done and said well your a healthy weight and I remember thinking no I'm overweight according to bmi. But the time a different doctor actually checked my bmi as I was clearly too thin they said, oh you're in the normal range so that's okay and dismissed it.

Take these things with a pinch of salt and use your eyes. I think they're particularly tricksy for kids who develop at different rates and have big heads.

My friend’s “over weight” dc is now 20 and a 6’4” rugby player. His dad is similar. Dc come in didn’t shapes and sizes. The bmi is a guide to use with other information.

dd1 is “underweight” on her bmi and a size 4-6 in adult clothes and 5’8”. However, she’s stayed on the same trajectory since birth and is healthy (takes after my dad’s side).

look at all your family info, portion sizes and activity levels then decide if you need to do anything.

My oldest was a skinny child. He was under the paediatrician for other things and we expressed concern over his weight. My husband said “you can count his ribs by sight”. The paediatrician commented “yes, you’re supposed to”. He also commented that we’re developing a skewed idea of what’s “normal” in terms of build because so many of us are overweight and obese.

sure BMI is a crude tool but it’s a starting point and unless you can count ribs they’re too fat 😜

A lot of rugby players are 23/24 stone, a rugby squad can have a combined weight of 1000kg.

Also most rugby players would not be obese, they’d be in the low end of the overweight category. it’s a myth that athletes would have a morbidly obese BMI. The only times it’s true is where the athlete in question is in fact very fat, which is the case with some sports, eg shot putting.

My eldest has this body type too!! 75th centile from in utero, both heigh and weight. Very wirey and strong and lively, with visible (but not protruding) ribs. His brother is two years younger - they have almost exactly the same diet (in fact, the youngest eats smaller portions, even for his age). They run around the same amount, usually together. Both boys. Both the same amount of sleep etc for their age. But the youngest is a cube shape. You can't see his ribs at all, and he has a little pot belly - not an overhang, but round. I really do think body types play a big part, even from a young age.

In our LA, every child receives a letter, not just those whose weight is of concern. The letter is addressed to the parents, not the child. Unless the parent decides to share the contents with their child, then it’s not ‘damaging’ at all.
When obesity is the biggest cause of myriad serous health conditions throughout life, then addressing this early doors is crucial.

I haven't seen the photo but for comparison my just turned 8 year old is broad shouldered, about 132cm and weighs about 23 kilos so 35 kilos seems very heavy to me. DS isn't skinny but has no fat on him either. He seems to be a similar height and build to most of the boys in his year. I would maybe be keeping a close eye on how much he is eating and the quality of it (without him knowing though) plus encouraging more excersise.