Two Year old “overweight”

My ds' diet was low in processed food and high in nutrition. It was also very high in calories....

My sister could not see that her daughter was obese (massively so).
She literally could not see it. It was extraordinary - I couldn’t believe it. My sister is educated to degree level, works as a primary school teacher and was very weight conscious herself back in the day, but somehow the way she saw her own daughter was totally warped.
You may see your son exactly as he is, but I’d be open to the possibility that your view of him may be different from the reality, if I was you.

Well that's true.

But the comments of 'Well I wouldn't because my child was fine', probably aren't very helpful.

Especially as they're being made retrospectively.

The OP can't possibly know whether her child will become one of the many children starting primary school, who live with obesity.

It's not happening to any of the other posters giving their opinion on the thread either. That's usually the way it goes here. There is 1 op and people give their thoughts and opinions on the topic at hand.

Depends who it is. Some of them I wouldn't trust to water my plants.

Why do people try to make others feel small with the silly 'bingo card' jibe?

If it's said often, it's because it's very often true.

IANAD but two seems to be a little early for making such comments. Both DDs were pretty chunky as babies and toddlers and a high centile, (particularly DD2 who was 9lbs 2oz at birth) but started to slim down at three and were a far more slender once they started school and have never been overweight. They are now 20 and 17 and are both bang in the middle of the healthy weight range.

I would take up their offer of an appointment. Sometimes people think their diets are good and they’re not, sometimes portion size is an issue. He may become a healthy weight as he grows but take advantage of the service being offered to you as they may be able to help.

You’re absolutely not being unreasonable. Imagine giving two year complexes about their weight! For goodness sake. Literally nobody talks more shit than Health visitors. Ignore them

grabs bingo card 🙄

I think it depends what the weight is. My 2 year old was 75th percentile for weight and 25th for height, but she was so active most of it was growing muscle!! And she looked in proportion for the HV wasn't concerned, she's now 4, still shorter than average, still "solid" as a build but very healthy

But it's not happening to you.

And to be honest if the OP wasn't worried, they wouldn't have started the thread.

She should probably see the nutritionist, if only to put her own mind at rest as to why her child is overweight.

The OP is confident that his diet is healthy, nutritious, and low in ultra-processed foods though so it doesn't seem like that much of gamble. Sure if she was feeding him sausage rolls and a bottle of coke for breakfast and wondering why he is chunky but the OP clearly knows about nutrition, he has always been in the same centile for weight, it hardly seems like cause for panic stations to me.

It’s easy to see your own child through rose tinted glasses. They’re perfect to us! However it’s better to nip this in the bud and I’d take the advice of a nutritionist could be a snack adjustment or portion sizes.

This doesn't mean the OP shouldn't be fussed though.

Given the childhood obesity rates, not every child is like your daughter.

So it's a bit of a blind gamble to take.

You say he's always been at the top end for weight, what about height? Is that a) consistent and b) on the higher end as well? Because if the answer to either of those is no, I'd be concerned.

Franky, I had two children at similar BMI at 2 and yes, both continued to be overweight - one notably so. It HAS evened out as they've entered puberty and got more active but it has also taken a bit of effort, particularly in the case of DS who just loved food (still does) and simply ate too much considering how much exercise he did. He still eats an astoniishing amount of food, he's just also now almost 6ft, and is doing sport and activity every single day so it's not an issue and he's very slim AND toned.

My top tip is to look at portion size but also ratio of food. At that age, a lot of children are eating lots of food like spaghetti bolognaise, cottage pie, fish pie etc - easy to eat, popular food that's often nutrient dense. But it's also often calorie dense and for chidlren who are really good eaters, actually, they don't need that. A huge part of getting DS' weight down between 9-11 was by shifting to a lot more food like simple proteins with large portions of vegetables/salads and "normal" portions of carbs. Even now, if he has pasta, he's eating a LOT but I make a huge effort to ensure that the sauces we have with pasta are a) chunky so a high proportion of the plate and b) lots and lots of vegetables.

I wouldn't be that fussed tbh. My dd was built like a tank at 2 years old. She was a lazy wee thing and it took her an age to be persuaded out of the pushchair. Once she started walking everywhere she was grand and at 16 now she struggles to find clothes small enough to fit her sometimes.

Op, they are just doing their job and reading figures and weights.

It is not personal. Talking to a nutritionist could never be negative. You might learn something positive
It would be arrogant to refuse the referral.

I think it’s probably pointless since even if she refers you which it doesn’t sound like she did you’ll be highly unlikely to get in front of an nhs nutritionist anytime soon.

both my children were referred to a group service which had some good ideas.

Ultimately the only thing that helped is when they were old enough to limit their food intake to less than that of an average child out of choice to be thin. They never really had a fair chance of being normal weight any other way.

This is more or less what I was going to say. Age 2 is also typically when they start using the pushchair less and start walking more, their coordination increases, their motor skills become more refined, and they become way more active which is when they really start to lean out.

HV at my eldest's 2yr check told me she was concerned about DC being on 95th centile. I pointed out DC had always been on that line even when a newborn, didn't eat junk or massive portions, and was very active (something which she also commented on when she asked "do they ever sit still!?"). It worried me so I saw my GP. GP laughed and said DC was fine, that HVs create more worry than they resolve, and that they'd only be concerned if DC's reception age weight and height check came back as over/underweight. Reception height and weight check came back as normal, DC now taller than me and not at all "chunky."

DC2 was the polar opposite and on 5th centile which also caused questions at the 2yr check. HV asked me to keep a food diary as was concerned DC wasn't eating enough. Was stunned a week later at how much DC was putting away and gave me some patronising advice about "too much of a good thing" and to let DC have some treats because they "have centiles to spare." DC is also now taller than me, calls me "bruh" as is "bruh, I'm starving", and is still a human hoover who never seems to put on weight.

DC3, 50th centile for height and weight despite eating nothing. At age 2 was living on Babybels, plain chicken breast, bananas, and uncooked yellow peppers. They wouldn't refer me to a dietician because they were "all healthy foods" and DC was "a healthy weight." Later diagnosed with ASD and ARFID.

DC4 was another one who was 95th centile from birth. HV quizzed me about DC's food to see where I could cut down. She agreed you can't really cut down on half a dry Weetabix at breakfast, one scrambled egg at lunch, and chicken and cucumber at dinner. She looked at me like I was lying when I said DC didn't like sweets and that their favourite snack was a bowl of garden peas, preferably still frozen. DC also later diagnosed with ASD and ARFID.

Please consider portion size then. My diet is also healthy and nutritious but I eat too much of it. As a result I am overweight!
Healthy food can be calorific and any food will lead to weight gain if overeaten.

Of course you don’t see anything wrong ‘in your eyes’ you’re the one feeding him.

children absolutely can be overweight and this attitude is why we have a terrible epidemic of obese children with multiple health issues and shitty lives ahead of them.

it’s not always junk food being the issue, it’s huge portion sizes and lack of knowledge of nutritional value.

My son was a chunky healthy eating 2 year old, I got tendinitis because of how heavy he was. He shed the weight as he got older. My youngest and middle were born big babies.

Not everyone who is deemed overweight on BMI is overweight, the op can use their eyes you know

BMI doesn't tend to work on certain ppl, I'm very short and when I lost weight and got down to a 10 my BMI said I was still overweight, also it will not be accurate on children and ppl who have a lot of bulk from weightlifting, I'd quite frankly tell them where they can stick the BMI.