Dd is gaining weight rapidly and I don’t know why

OP my daughter does a particular sporting activity and there was recently an event where a woman athlete came to talk to the girls bout continuing the sport through puberty and managing periods etc. She spoke about weight gain and growth spurts and how your body and coordination and sense of where you are physically within the sport can be really challenging. But anyway the upshot was - weight gain and body changes of all sorts are completely normal. My daughter in the last year gained weight (especially around her middle) despite being fairly healthy and very active. She has since grown up and in, and has a shape to her waist that wasn't there before. There'll be a lot more changes to come. It is strange to see a child who has been a little bird all of their childhood suddenly gain weight and it can trigger a bit of vigilance but it is really, really normal and expected. Please don't start dragging your little girl to doctors unless you genuinely think there is actually something troubling and outside of the norm.

Former overweight child here.

Please, please, get this checked out and get her some help. Considering the sensitivity of the issue, probably worth speaking to a medical professional yourself first, and take it from there.

Both me and my best friend gained lots of weight in early teens, aged 10-13.

Both have really struggled all our adult lives to not be obese. She's always been very big and had very serious health issues in her starting in her 20s. My other best friend had similar parents, he had a stroke at 30, wth obesity a big contributing factor.

I went the other way and developed a bit of an obsession with diet and exercise, thus yo-yoing between an adult size 8 and recently being obese. I am now size 10, stable, happiest and healthiest I've ever been, and looking at my childhood with such different eyes.

If she has an interest in a performance sport, allow he to embrace it. Kids are meant to be super active but today's lifestyle doesn't accommodate it, so if she wants to do more sports or exercise at home, please don't curb her enthusiasm.

If she becomes more interested in healthy eating, also let her - provided it doesn't cross over to disordered territory.

If you spare her the 'fat' years in a sensitive way, it'll do her health, mental health, self-worth and adult years a world of good.

Our mums were in total denial, and had such bad food habits themselves, e.g. dessert every dinnertime, kids encouraged to have a 2nd and 3rd helping of birthday cake etc.

Other childrens' mums would regularly raise concerns about our weight gain and the fact that we weren't allowed to do much exercise with our mums, and they totally ignored it and thought we were meant to be 'big-boned'.

I have 2 DS, the oldest takes after me and can easily gain weight, but the younger one takes after my DH who has never carried any extra weight in his life. The oldest went through a chubby stage at puberty but then shot up to over 6ft, and it evened out. The youngest has always been super slim. It may just be genetics.

OP,
if you are worried contact GP.
Dont put your DD on a diet because you will give insecurities to your child.

maybe you can tweak the meals by increasing protein, give good wholemeal carb, and look into hidden sugars, and ditch the cereals bar as its full of sugar

Yes that’s really low.

I am a size 8/10 on top - I like an oversize look. Flat stomach. Size 00 in jeans. And I just weighed myself last week for ski bindings and was shocked to know I am ten stone 5 (in clothes and trainers). That’s crazy. I thought I was 9ish.

I was once really mentally ill and dropped to 7’5. Honestly I was like skin and bones. I still am half skin and bones tbh if I look at things like my wrists, ankles, ribs. So no idea how a grown woman is sustaining 7 stone in a healthy manner.

Girls at this age can and do gain weight rapidly, it's normal. If there are no other issues or symptoms then just keep being healthy. And don't keep putting her on the scale.

Kids often add a few plumptions before a growth spurt, I wouldn't fret for a while yet.

Sometime is not about food, take her to the doctors.

Also im really suprised she cant zip up a coat age 15. What adult size is she i would have thought an 8 max in say new look.

She is obese though with those measurements. A sudden change in appearance in a child does need to be looked into - it shouldn’t necessarily be brushed under the carpet as ‘puppy fat’

My friend who is a nurse & heslth visitor said to me that they all go a bit podgy/ ugly ducking stage at thst age thdn grow and enter inti puberty. You could discretely add more veg and remove a bit potato but other than that in would wait a year before worrying. What is her shoe size? Feet and head grow and stop first. If her feet are near your size or bigger she is likely going ti be taller than youvabd therefore heavier long term.

Using the UK 1990 (UK90) growth reference charts (the ones used by the NHS): A BMI of 22.5 at age 10 is approximately around the 96th–97th percentile.
What that means on UK charts

• 85th–<91st centile → Overweight
• 91st–<98th centile → Obese

but to be realistic, you are overfeeding her with carbs. Some people grow large and large on too much bread, cereal, potatoes, rice, etc. I do. When I don't eat much carb, I am very slim. But since I eat bread and cake I very overweight

not true. We worship it

even if she was a bit plump, so what.

Weighing children is not bizarre, its one of the first things we do to a baby. Being a healthy weight is a sign of good health. We need to teach children about weight, that it fluctuates. As a society we have villanised the weighing scale and have long lost site of what a healthy weight is.

This. What’s your own relation with your weight? Do your kids get enough exercise?

I never weigh my kids nor myself.

This child is not obese far from it.

Ugh. My family has given me a lifetime of body issues after the same thing happened to me. I had the misfortune of starting puberty early and put on a lot of weight on my boobs, stomach and arse around the age of 10. Lost it all by age 13 when my height shot up. Everyone gushed over how pretty I suddenly was. After 3 years of my mum and aunties restricting food because I was getting fat... the damage had been done. Awful.

Just back the fuck down.

My DD had this right before puberty. She shot up to as tall as me suddenly and her feet went two sizes bigger. I had to it buy her a whole new wardrobe.
I'm glad I never said anything to her about it.

This. As someone WITH anorexia this is literally so fucking clear “I’m slightly underweight look how skinny I am!!!”