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

[megabrilliant]

I weighed my dd today she is 10 and weighs 7 stone 2 at 4 foot 8 which puts her at 96 centile.
I weighed myself at the same time and I was 7 stone 1 which at 5’2 makes me marginally underweight but only by a couple of lb.
My 8 year old was only 4 stone something and smack bang in the healthy range.
I just don’t understand and I know people must think I feed her junk but I give them both the same breakfast, same packed lunch and cook them the same dinner and so if anything the youngest eats more for her age as she eats the same size meals.
I walk them to and from school each day which is about 15 minutes each way so that’s half an hour exercise and they both do activities out of school plus we go swimming and are quite an active family generally.
No sweet drinks or junk food.

An average day will look like this.

Breakfas
2 pieces of toast and spread or bowl of porridge or very occasionally a croissant or hot cross bun for a change.

Packed lunch
Sandwich or wrap with ham or cheese.
yogurt
piece of fruit
cereal bar for snack at break and water.

Dinner
Meat, all fresh like chicken breast or pork chops, veg, potato or rice or pasta, occasionally beans but rarely.

If they are hungry later they have fruit or cheese or cracker type biscuits but other than that I can’t see how she is ballooning in weight.
I used to give her size 6 clothes I didn’t wear anymore because she fitted in them and now she doesn’t and I’m buying primary school uniform in age 15 online and she’s in teen clothes, I bought a coat in age 15 and she’s struggling to do the zip up.
Her teeth are good, she isn’t a good sleeper but is there anything else I can do for her or is she just a bit bigger but can that still be healthy, I think people think it’s neglect and I’m giving her the wrong food but we all eat the same.

Please don't compare your adult self to your 10yo child and stop weighing her. Buy her clothes that fit regardless of the label. If you are really worried, then contact your GP, nurse practitioner or school nursing service.

Probably nothing to do with her weight, but the breakfast in particular sounds carb heavy in relation to any other foods. Some protein at breakfast would be a good idea to keep energy levels up for longer, and avoid any wish to snack between the healthy meals. Is she getting snack foods from someone/somewhere during the school day?

Curious what reason you gave for weighing you all suddenly?

I would talk to your GP if concerned but just to mention my eldest is on the 91st centile for his weight but he’s also on the 96th centile for his height.
He sees a dietician and consultant due to other health problems not related to weight and diet and they aren’t concerned at all. They’ve said he’s in proportion and his body shape isn’t slight, he has broad shoulders and big calf muscles from cycling a lot.
My other 2 have my frame, very slight and petite but the oldest one towers over me already and has size 9 feet…. He’s not yet gone through puberty so I’m expecting him to massive.
Please try not to compare your daughter to you, it’s very likely that she has a different build and at the age of 10 will be going through puberty soon.
It sounds like she eats a healthy balanced diet and gets plenty of exercise, if she isn’t sneaking food or spending pocket money as you say she doesn’t really have any then you may find she’s just due a growth spurt.

Why are you ignoring all the posters who say it could be puberty.
Children grow out before they grow up.its perfectly normal

Of course you compare your children to yourself. Drs and health visitors do it too.

Both my babies were very small and very small as children. I would regularly get told by doctors and health visitors that they were not concerned about my DC low weight as they could see that I am very petite.

It is completely relevant for the OP to state that she is very petite and in fact smaller than her 10 year old DD when she is concerned about sudden weight gain. Because, you know, genetics….

Age 10 pre periods was exactly when my DD got a bit chubby. DD evened out (slimmer/taller) by 13 and now (19) is a size 6-8 and a healthy weight.

Puppy Fat is literally ascribed to children aged around 10/11.

Who said I was ignoring them?

I gained about 3 stone in 1 year just before puberty. Went on a low carb diet at around 14 and lost it all. Never gained it back since.

Turns out I have PCOS so not sure if that caused it.

I ate much less than my brother who was 2 years younger and always healthy meals so that’s the only thing I can think which caused such a rapid weight gain (mostly all on my belly which is also a pcos sign).

She’s at an age where it’s really normal to gain weight which is needed for puberty and growth.

Please stop weighing your kids and focus on getting more food into you!!

All these people saying she will suddenly 'shoot up' and the weight will redistribute etc - well, you certainly aren't tall, how tall is her father?

OP this happened to me, both my sisters and my cousin... right before we got our period!!!

It is a little concerning if you really are needing to get age15 clothing for a 10 year old (are you sure?) Speak to the GP practice and book an apt to either see the nurse or a GP. It doesn’t seem right.

What centile is she at for height? If she’s just turned 10 it looks she’s maybe around 75th centile but if she’s closer to 11 then she’s closer to the 50th centile.

I don’t really understand all the posters desperate to insist that asking a concerned question about a child at the 96th percentile for weight must mean OP has an eating disorder. She hasn’t said that she’s implementing a strict diet and daily weigh ins!

I would not be overly concerned. My eldest dds went through similar at 10/11. By the time they were 12 they were fully developed and in proportion again.

Her body could be fueling up for a big growth spurt or even pre-puberty.

All these people saying she will suddenly 'shoot up' and the weight will redistribute etc - well, you certainly aren't tall, how tall is her father?

I'm 5 6 but DH 5 6 half inches - we both have really tall and really small people in direct ancestory - DD2 is the tallest of our kids - taller than even DS. The usual pattern in height decreases with birth order slightly - but she bucks that trend being youngest and tallest by a fair bit.

It is normal for ten year old girls to put on weight before puberty height increases - DD2 was just very dramtaic and not at all like DD1 development- so if Op child eating normally and active it's likely that.

I did worry and adjusted meals and activity levels as subtley as possible but had little effect and then DD2 had massive growth spurt in the spring.

If you are really worried you can talk to HCP or pop to GP and they can talk through it with you- but chances are they'd put it down to age and puberty after checking what her diet is anyway unless there were other concerns.

You say you eat lots - could it be that as a family you actually have too-large portion sizes, but just you and your other DC have naturally fast metabolisms? Whereas your overweight DC may have a normal or slow metabolism and is therefore gaining weight from too-large portions?

Otherwise, it could well just be a growth spurt. But definitely best to talk to the GP I think.

My DS was classed as obese at 12. He was about 5 foot 6 and weighed 9 stone ish. I was really worried about him but my mum said I should stop being ridiculous because he was definitely about to have a huge growth spurt. He’s 16 next week and 6 foot tall. No longer obese, perfectly normal weight. Kids have random growth spurts all of the time. At 10 and as a female, she may be entering puberty.

Ask the GP to check her thyroid x

5’2” and 7 stone 1 isn’t underweight. I weigh less. She’s 10 so it’s probably puberty and she might have a different body type. Stop bringing attention to scales and weight. I can’t believe you weighed yourself at the same time.

I'm another that was weighed around this age...was perfectly acceptable size others were smaller (I'm tall broad and size 9/10 feet)...was made to feel wrong in comparison...there follows a lifelong mucked up relationship with food ...it began at that step on the scales. I thought we were doing better for our daughters?

Visually our perception of weight as a country is very skewed. Thats why we're fat as a nation. Weighing isnt shameful as long as loaded language isnt used, we should all be aware of the numbers and what we can do to stay healthy - barring exceptional circs

I have three DDs, youngest 16 now. I never weighed any of them after the age of one or two, and I certainly never spoke of weight when they were likely approaching puberty, or at any time, for that matter. Like pp have said, it's probably just puppy fat. It's perfectly normal for children to get a bit chunky, even lumpy and bumpy, before their height catches up and their body completes the transformation from child's to adult's. Nothing to be concerned about.

Would you not weigh a child you could visibly see had gained a lot of weight? I appreciate it’s important not to make weight a big deal but it feels a bit irresponsible to not weigh them if you notice something - either rapid weight gain, or any weight loss in a growing child. Weighing a child once is not bringing excessive attention to scales and weight.

And I think you could argue the toss on whether OP should have weighed herself at the same time. Doing that might have meant that her child didn’t feel like she was being singled out. More important would be how OP actually spoke to her DD, which we don’t know.