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

I don't think the OP has mentioned that her son is a professional athlete training daily with a professional coach.

My son was a competitive swimmer training multiple times a week. We got to learn a lot about young people's bodies and their weight etc.. Most young athletes are well within the healthy weight range and before puberty there is no reason for high BMI except it being down to excess fat due to excess calories in the diet.

At 8 years old children cannot lay down the muscle that adult rugby players have which causes their weight to b above average. Nor are they training enough to manage that excess weight. They also are not regularly having other measures (such as heart rate, VO2 max etc..) taken to monitor their fitness and health, like rugby players are.

Yes - BMI is not always a helpful measure for pro athletes, and even some v v athletic kids (high level gymnasts, swimmers, runners and those training over 12 hours a week). But for the average 8 yd old it's v helpful and accurate.

Just remember that kids store a lot of weight between the ages of 8-11 (different for all kids but that’s the benchmark) before they hit puberty and shoot up. My DD stored a few extra lb at age 9, shot up just as she turned 10. DS at age 11 stored a lot, shot up as he turned 12. DS is starting to store extra now too, he’s ready for his big growth spurt.

A child can be very overweight but not have any health problems yet. The emphasis is on YET though. Statistically it is highly likely those health problems will come in time so why put them in that position. Bmi is not a good tool for children but also I do think as a society we do often lose sight of what a healthy size looks like so need something like bmi as a starting point.

@PuddingAunt did you read the article?

It's nothing to do with standards of healthcare. BMI is an outdated, racist and sexist tool. It doesn't mean anything about your actual lifestyle or health.

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

I walk 10k steps a day, gym 4-5 times a week and ensure I'm eating good, whole foods. Lots of lean protein and veg. Yet according to BMI I'm worse off than the girl in my office who's thin but eats nothing but junk and never moves? Health is a complex picture and one number cannot summarise it well enough.

I'm tall and about 9 stone. I'm slim, not skinny. Thanks.

It really isn't.

BMI adjusted for age is what is used in England to check children at school.

The racial angle discussed in this journal article about BMI of 30 in adults is irrelevant. It's an ethics article with no medical discussion and no evidence of medical training to understand the links between weight and health. Yes there are lots of communities that value large bodies, including white British communities, evidently, but that doesn't provide protection against type 2 diabetes heart disease, arthritis etc etc

It is a kind of racism to say "these kids are a different race, (or class, in the case of white British working class) therefore we won't give them the same standards of healthcare".

If a medical professional says your kid is over/underweight, why ask an anonymous internet forum of non-experts if they agree?

I'm pretty sure children should not be given these letters at school, but you're saying they got letters home AND at school?

If parents are triggered by learning their child's weight may indicate future health problems then they need to address that. Stopping the programme isn't the solution for that.

What is your position in this? How are you learning that some girls have developed unhealthy eating patterns?

There are clearly issues in the way it's being handled in your area, but thinking more broadly, how do you think we should be addressing the obesity crisis? I don't know the answer myself, but I'm curious to know what you think?

@Floralsofa at age 8 that's a very unlikely possibility.

You can either decide to tackle it in a way that's healthy and helps him with his relationship with food and his body, or give him a life long eating disorder.

Yes, who cares about massively increasing heart disease and cancer risks.

Not necessarily. It might not be the healthy weight for that person, but as far as BMI goes it would not raise any alarm bells.

This isn’t true at all. I had a child born on 98 centile for height, she is now on the 90 centile for height and 75 centile for weight. If she was on the 90 centile for height and only 50% centile for weight then she would be under weight.

You’re getting bmi and centile range mixed up.

I wouldn’t call that very active for a child. Good but maybe average, children would be doing a doing at least an hour of exercise a day, the martial arts classes will involve a lot of standing and watching.

My DS was weighed and classes as obese at school when he was 5. He was quite chubby/chunky but ate really healthily. He thinned out by about age 10 and now is 15 and skinny. It's a pita getting trousers to fit!

I have an 8 year old who is in clothes for 11 to 12 year olds. She sees paedetrician for digetsive issues and he is happy with her weight. But she is clearly not over weight, completely flat tummy and you can clearly see her ribs when she is naked. I’ve always read see the ribs is the most accuarate measurement. You say BMI but then talk about centile. What is his centile for height v weight? I believe when weight is large than height that is when there is a problem.

My daughter’s measurements are 32.1 kg and 142 cm.

I don’t imagine how with those numbers you could have been “ridiculously skinny”. I was 5’6” and 6 1/2 stone and even I wasn’t skinny enough to be hospitalised. Your aunt sounds deranged.
Even now I’m under 8 stone and I am very healthy looking.

Also @Babababyy

journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-use-bmi-fetishizes-white-embodiment-and-racializes-fat-phobia/2023-07

This article is quite a nice summary of why BMI is a pretty poor tool.

I haven't seen the picture, but 98th centile for.BMI is v v high.

You need to aim for 50th centile.BMI.

I know he's your son,.you love him and you probably think he looks perfect. But you need to take the rose tinted glasses off for the sake of his future health and wellbeing and get that weight down a bit.

I'm also not loving this "just within a healthy weight" business when someone's BMI is 23.

My BMI is 22.8 (I'm 5' 8", and about 10 stone 10lbs). So rather than being classed as a healthy weight, by @Babababyy 's logic I'm "just within". 😦

I'n a size 10 and I look and feel great so though 🤷‍♀️🤣

@Babababyy it's not. It's based on the average white man 70 odd years ago.

Most of us aren't rugby players or body builders. If you are, then ignore the BMI chart. It's accurate for the majority of the population.

@Babababyy
9 stone at 5' 2" is not overweight- it's a healthy BMI.

@Babababyy sure, other than the fact BMI is total rubbish. I'm sure all the rugby players who count as morbidly obese worry about it a lot?

There's a lot more that goes into health than a BMI rating.

This is a generic BMI ideal weight chart.

www.waitrose.com/home/inspiration/healthy-eating-andweightloss/weight_loss/bmi_calculator.html

It is important that he's happy, but it's also important to acknowledge the future issues that he may face if he is already overweight at the age of 8yrs. Plenty of research has shown that overweight children are likely to be overweight/obese in adulthood, they find it harder to loose it than those that were a healthy weight.

Yes, he may be 'healthy' now at 8yrs, but we all know that being overweight causes a lot of health problems in the future. The entire population is getting bigger and bigger and we are loosing sight of what a healthy weight looks like.

I don't think anyone has been horrible about the boy, I have not seen the picture, but if he does have a big belly, then stating that he does is being truthful. The OP has asked if others thought her son is overweight and whether he can still be healthy. Its just being hopeful that he's 'about to go through a growth spurt', what happens if he still has excess fat?

That would give you a BMI of 23 which in the healthy range.