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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To worry my 16 month old DS is overweight?

34 replies

cauliflowercore · 26/01/2026 18:26

AIBU to be worried about my 16 month old DS being overweight?

This is my first post so sorry if i get things wrong. i feel a bit silly even typing this but it has been going round my head for weeks and i dont know if im being unreasonable or not.

My DS is 16 months. He is a happy lovely little boy and hitting all his milestones etc. But he is big. Like visibly bigger than other kids his age. At toddler group he looks older than he is and people always say oh he must be nearly 2 or ask what size clothes hes in.

We saw the HV last month and she said hes on a high centile but following his line so its fine. I nodded and smiled but i didnt really understand the centile stuff if im honest. Hes something like 91st for weight and lower for height which is what worries me. She said not to put him on a diet obviously but to just keep offering healthy food.

The thing is he eats a lot. Hes always hungry. If i dont give him seconds he screams. He loves food and will eat pretty much anything but especially carbs. I dont give him sweets or fizzy drinks or anything like that. He has toast or porridge for breakfast, proper meals and fruit. But he just seems chunky and his belly sticks out. His thighs have rolls. His coats and trousers are tight even when i size up.

My mum keeps making comments like hes a little porker or oh he doesnt miss a meal does he. I know she probably doesnt mean harm but it gets to me. My MIL has also said i shouldnt be letting him eat so much and that babies dont need seconds. That made me feel awful like im setting him up for problems later.

I dont want to be one of those mums obsessing over weight or projecting stuff onto a baby. But i also dont want to ignore it if theres something i should be doing differently. i keep comparing him to other kids and then telling myself to stop.

So am i being unreasonable to worry about this or is it normal at this age? Please be kind. i really am not trying to be cruel about my own child and i already feel bad even posting this.

OP posts:
TheBlueKoala · 26/01/2026 20:30

@cauliflowercore Tell your mum to shut up- calling her dgc porker is just nasty. I would go lc tbh.

user1476613140 · 26/01/2026 20:31

All mine are stick insects now as older children but as babies were nice and chunky as they should be. Better that, than seeing a failure-to-thrive baby.

They burn off calories as they get older and more active.

SalmonOnFinnCrisp · 26/01/2026 20:35

My Dd swapped arpund between 75th and 91st for height and weight so sometimes "tall and thin" sometimes tall with more heft (91st for weight 75th for height) shes very healthy and we werent concerned but I do keep an eye on it.We also monitor DS weight as he is very low on centiles but healthy and tracking.

If its something like that ... no sweat.

I think if he's 10th centile for height and 91st for weight and still like that at 2 / 2.5 I would be looking at keeping food nutritious (nothing low fat) but bulking with vegetables and avoid giving large portions of cal dense foods regularly.

I say this as I "grew up fat" with my parents insisting I'd grow out of my puppy fat 🥴. I wouldnt want that childhood for my kids if i could help it.

Your mum needs to knock those comments on the head though....

campista · 26/01/2026 20:38

Don't worry about weight comments. You sound like you're doing a great job. Mine were absolute lumps. 2 stone at 10 months, over 10lbs at birth.
No weight problems as boys, teenagers and men x

user2848502016 · 26/01/2026 20:48

He sounds fine for now, he’s eating healthily by the sounds of it and walking.
Most toddlers lose their toddler chubbiness by around 3.
My DD was a big baby and has always been tall for her age, she is a healthy 11 year old now (just tall!). People always thought she was older and used to ask her why she wasn’t in school today when she was out with me in the day, I’d have to explain she was only 2.5!

Clychaugog · 26/01/2026 20:51

I spent the first 18 months of my life looking like a sumo wrestler. People still go on about it now.

The rest of my life I've been at underweight end of the normal BMI index.

He'll be reet, I'm sure.

user593 · 26/01/2026 20:57

My first DC ate huge portions. He was 99th percentile by age 2 (he was born around 70th percentile I think) and chubby. He’s now a fussy, slim and tall five year old. I really wouldn’t worry at this stage, a lot changes in these early years.

pteromum · 26/01/2026 21:15

I think you are doing great.
my friends fourth DS is the same. She’s a nurse, father a rugby player, nobody says a word.

my second and third were like this.
so twins
1 tiny
2 tiny then terrified me at the amount she ate.
3 as above
4 struggling to get her to eat anything. Like a tiny bird.

First two are mine by adoption, from two weeks.

They could now pass as quads, and the only difference is DD4 has tiny legs. So trouser size. but generally I just pull out clothes and they fit all, ages 6, 5 and 4

Birdh0use · 26/01/2026 21:52

Mine was chunky then and chunky now, loves food but maybe not very good at recognising when they are full. Tricky balance

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