to be concerned re weight?

[Flojo1979]

Ds is 7 and sooo skinny.
U can count his ribs easily and if I make a loop between my finger and thumb I can fit his upper arm in it.
I weighted him today and he's 25kg which puts him in the 50th centile but he's 133cm tall which is on the 98th centile.
He isn't very activate, preferring to stick his head in a book than run round.
AIBU or wasting time to get the gp to give him the once over? What could they do anyway?

See the GP for reassurance if nothing else - that isnt wasting their time

7 year olds should be skinny, you should be able to count their ribs.

He has a good appetite and a healthy diet, beginning to think I should introduce more fatty foods in to his diet?

He should have fatty foods in his diet, 7 yr olds should not be on low fat diets.

He sounds absolutely fine, he is on the 50th centile so hardly wasting away.

I have the opposite concern, DS is on the 50th centile for height and 95th for weight and I worry that he is plump but doctor not concerned as he has always had these centiles.

Has your DS always been roughly like this on the charts?

Ds was on 98th centile for weight til he got on the move at about 3 yrs then slowly crept down to 50th centile.

Still doesn't sound like an issue if he is happy and healthy but if you are concerned then take him to the doctor or health visitor.

I read somewhere recently, can't remember where, that because of the 'obesity epidemic' in children we now judge what is normal as too skinny. My 3 dc are all little stick people but eat a huge amount. But yes if you are worried then its always worth checking. Just stating the obvious really not very helpful sorry!!

Doesn't sounds especially worrying to me but see GP if concerned.

Totally normal to see ribs in 7 year old boys - my DS1 (6) only 18kg but he is short - but can see ribs.

He doesnt need fatty foods.

Ok it seems I'm worrying about nothing, that's good to know thank-you.
I didn't mean low fat diet as in weight watchers ready meals, I just meant maybe I should relax a little and feed him on fish fingers and chips more!

I don't think any poster here can advise you whether there is a problem or not. Only a health professional who has physically examined him can. He may be fine, he may be underweight.... Other Mners arent qualified to comment on that

I echo what nurseynurse to be says.

Just been on holiday with friends, she worries about her boy being too skinny but when they were in their swimming trunks I was reassured to see that he didn't look that much different from my DS who as per previous post I'm kind of concerned might be too well padded.

My 10 year old is the same.... Has always been 25th centile for height and 2nd centile for weight. When you calculate her bmi ie ratio of height to weight, she is off the scale......but doctors and hv have assessed her as healthy. Plus points - she is easy to pick out in a crowd/on the stage by looking at her thin legs. Minus points - it is really tough finding skinny jeans to fit. Was a bit when shoe shop assistant (in France) asked me if she was terminally ill, and discussed her with the other staff......

OP you are spot on with adding the fatty foods. Adults often seem to equate oils and fats with a negative diet, but in children they are essential. You'll know when he's getting too much.

Make him bacon sandwiches for breakfast, add lots of butter to your cooking and give him deserts with double cream. Fry things instead of bake or grill. Extra cheese if he eats it. These are healthy ways to add weight rather than giving him biscuits and sweets.

Soapy I think you need to see another doctor. 25th & 2nd is not acceptable.

Achillea - genuinely, I appreciate the concern, because there are underweight kids who need help. But mine has seen 3 different doctors, a health visitor with home visits, had blood tests, been monitored through school nurse.... She has her dad's bone structure and doesn't like potatoes or dairy products, so we work hard to find other high calorific but healthy food.

Sounds like he's had a bit of a grow upwards and now he needs to balance out sideways.

Unless you have any specific concerns, I wouldn't worry. As someone else said, children are supposed to be a bit skinny! We've just become conditioned to seeing chubby kids as the norm.

My daughter has been below the 0.4th centile for both height and weight since birth. Every now and again, she creeps up to the 2nd centile for height, but her weight has never even got close to it. She eats like a horse and, whilst we eat sensibly, she certainly doesn't have a 'low fat' diet. She's also been seen and there are no concerns about her diet or her development. She was 3lb 9oz at birth and is just a small child.

There isn't any need to arbitrarily fatten him up unless the doctors have identified a problem. So I would take him for a check up and not worry about it.

He was 10lb 7oz at birth so def not same centile!

My 7 yr old DS is a skinny little bean. I can definitely see all of his ribs, but it doesn't worry me because he's so energetic. He is bright and alert and has a good concentration span. He hardly ever gets colds or coughs and is otherwise normal and healthy.

I think I would be worried if he seemed lethargic or there were other issues. If he's otherwise healthy, I would not worry too much. Children do have upward growth spurts and then outward ones - or the other way round. I also try not to get too hung up on centiles and averages. They are children and they don't follow growth lines by the book.

I've just added a picture of my DS to my profile to show you what I mean!

I wouldn't worry masively but equally I would get him checked out at the doctors because there can be health reasons for discrepencies between weight an height (that's why we are given the charts), the chances are that tgehre is nothing wrong, but better to be safe than sorry. I know that my daughter had quite a quick weight loss but we nearly lost her through undiagnosed diabetes. It's worth checking it out.

You should be able to see his ribs, we are becoming conditioned to think that normal children are skinny because of the number of overweight children there are.

Also remember that the centiles are based on the average of the children in the country, NOT what is a normal weight. A child on the 50th centile is in the middle compared to other children, which is not the same as being a normal weight.

DO NOT start giving him huge amounts of butter/deep fried food/saturated fats, this will just lead to health problems later in life. If you want to give him more fatty food then go for the 'good' fats such as nuts, avocado etc.

As long as he is not hungry, is healthy and active and eats a well balanced diet then I wouldn't worry, children come in all different shapes and sizes. You may find he fills out a bit over the next year or two, my DC always grow up before they grow out!

Bacon, butter and double cream?? If you want to add fat you can add fats like those found in nuts, avacado, salmon etc. 7 year olds still have arteries and high levels of saturated fats aren't great for anyone.

And as said , you should^ be able to see the ribs on a 7 year old boy.