7yo DS underweight - when is it a problem?

[fossil97]

DS has always been skinny and on the 1st centile, but recently he's actually lost some weight and a lot of his appetite following an infection. He's now about 17.5kg and 118cm tall which seems to be well under 1st centile from online checks. I do think his stamina isn't what it was, he does tend to get tired easily and not have the endurance of his brother/team mates at football etc. He's been checked out recently and no known condition or longterm illness. At the last checkup (when he was 18.5kg) they noted he was underweight but didn't comment on it at all.

His diet isn't bad, OK for fruit/cereals but he will leave a dinner untouched rather than eat something he doesn't fancy, he's so stubborn. the "he'll eat when he's hungry" argument doesn't seem to apply, unless he can really go 18 hours without food.

I wonder about going to the doctor and whether they would refer us to a nutritionist?

I would certainly go to the doctors. If it is affecting his energy levels, and stamina that suggests he is not eating enough, unless it could still be the end of the infection he had? Either way its got to be worth getting some medical advice.

I was going to say, don't fret about the weight charts unless your child seems unwell and doesn't have any energy... so having read the full post I would seek a gp appointment. I also have a tinsy child - we only ever made it to the 0.2 percentile line on the growth charts... if we ever made it on the chart. The HV were practically freaking out at her weight but as she has always been healthy, full of energy and an ok eater (well small quantities but not the worse I've seen) we were sure she was fine. We eventually took her for a gp check up and they said she was just a wee person. But in our case we had no other concerns. He may well just be recovering still from the virus, in some cases it can take a while. Your gp will be able to advise better

If he has recently been ill, I would give it a little while to see if it picks up. My 8yo DD was quite ill recently and couldn't really eat. she dropped down to under 20kg (she is about 128cm tall) which also put her below 1st centile. I was quite worried, dr was not (or rather she was worried about the illness, not about her weight). A few weeks on and she has put on all the weight she lost and now weighs about 23k. Stll below average but not a worrying BMI.

Thanks everyone. Will give it a couple of weeks.

has he had a coeliac screening test done?