Is 15m DD too fat?

[JimbosJetSet]

DD has always been big and it is quite apparent that she is a lot fatter (or ''sturdier'' as DM says...) than her peers of the same age, but is about the same height as them. She is on the 99th percentile for her weight and it is difficult to accurately measure her, but I think she's about on the 75th percentile for her height.

Since a couple of weeks old she has remained on the 99th weight percentile (ebf for the first 6 months) but used to be on a similar length percentile. I don't give her junk to eat (no cake, chocolate, biscuits etc) but she does seem to eat larger quantities of food than her peers.

Do I need to worry? If she is overweight, I'd rather start tackling it now - any advice on how I do this?

My DD is 15 mo on the 91st, havn't had her weighed for ages and I don't intend to unless I'm worried. She is sturdier than a lot of her peers, taller and more robust but not fat in the slightest. I have just put her into 18 -24 mo clothes, She eats loads! its all good stuff but she does have a treat every now and then.

For tea tonight she ate 3/4 of a fillet of trout, 3 boiled pots and the same size serving of peas as I had.

Is you DD active? walking/running etc, my DD is so I'm not worried about what she eats as she is burning it off.

If she isn't very active yet (not long been walking etc), then I would wait a while to see if she loses her puppy fat when she gets going.

As long as she is eating healthy food though I wouldn't worry, some babies are chubby some are very thin everyone is different. Mention it to your HV if you really are worried though

Babies don't need diets though IMO, with DD I serve her tea and she feeds herself what she wants usually loads some days very little, I don't make her clear her plate, or keep pushing food on her. When she stops she is full.

I think it is quite hard to overfeed a toddler. Are you sure she is genuinely overweight and not just big for her age at the moment?

My DS was ebf and was a total chunkster from birth. He loved to feed. However, now he is 16mo and never still for any length of time, he is beginning to wear trousers from 6 months ago again. He is in no way chunky now, just nicely rounded at the corners.

I'm pretty relaxed about his eating. He's never had chocolate - yet - but he does eat the world's supply of yoghurt. I never force him to finish stuff because I don't want to make him overeat if he isn't interested. (Since he is a good eater so far, I haven't had any dramas with him not eating except when sick so I've been very lucky it's straightforward.)

So: does your DD run around a lot? And is it ok for her to leave food if she isn't hungry?

If so, it doesn't sound like there is too much to worry about. As she gets even more active and busy, she will probably slow down her weight gain a bit.

A few of my friends have found they were giving their toddlers too much milk on top of them eating very well. They cut back the milk and gave their kids more varied snacks instead. Does she drink a lot of milk?

It sounds like you are a lovely mum doing the best for your DD. You could always ask your health visitor for advice on her diet if you are really worried though.

Thank you for your replies. DD is very active now, she goes to nursery or a playgroup about 4 times a week and is always on the go, but she has only been walking for a month so hopefully in a while that will start to take effect.
She has always fed herself, so she only ever eats just as much as she wants to. She doesn't have any milk during the day.
She is, however, just about to go into size 2-3 clothes but perhaps then that's just the way she is meant to be... Thanks again for your help.

Dd is on the 99th centile for height + weight. She's 14 months and has been walking for 4 months. She has a bit of a tummy and is very sturdy but I'm not worried about it. She eats ridiculous amounts sometimes but then for example last night she had half a mini pancake for dinner and chewed and spat out turkey and cheese.

Don't worry about it, its highly likely her eating habits will naturally change anyways like ds's did when he lived on yogurt for a year.

Jimbos My DD will be going into size 2-3 very soon, her 18-24 trousers from next have no give in them! If you look at the size guide there is only a very small difference in the sizes! Their growth slows down at this age and the body shape changes as they walk and develop core strength. Most children that I know are in the next size to what they 'should' be.

If she has only been walking for a month I think you will soon see a big change in her, as she gains in confidence and ability she will go from pottering around to full on sprints very quickly!

Don't worry too much, feed her good food, and give her exercise (both of which you do) and it will balance out

Babies and toddlers come in all sizes and its perfectly natural, it is in no way an indicator of if they will be 'fat' later on (apart from the kids that are being fed a fast food diet)

And I'm sure your HV or someone at the nursery would say something if they thought there was a problem!