Very underweight DD

[cheekydevil]

My DD (5) has a very healthy diet, not interested in sweets or unhealthy sugar packed foods or drinks but I put her height and weight into NHS BMI calculator last night and she is in the 1st percentile and is highlighted as underweight.
The reason I am so worried about this is because she keeps making comments about being fat!
I don't think this has anything to do with school as her friends are all of a similar build and I can't really think of any other children that may have been labelled 'fat' that she might have heard being bullied so I don't know where she has even heard the label.
We don't talk about weight issues at home as my DH is a healthy weight and whereas I know I am slightly overweight as have mobility problems I never label myself as fat as I eat healthily. We talk about foods that are healthy and foods that are a treat after healthy foods have been eaten and these messages are reinforced at school.
She is not a big eater and is put off food if there is too much on her plate and won't eat sauces/gravies etc. Loves veg and bananas and usually has a dessert after tea.
She says that she gets a sticker at school sometimes for eating all her lunch so it's not the school food putting her off.
Should I not worry as she eats healthily or should I take her to GP knowing this will have a big impact as she would do anything to avoid GP as had a lot of problems early in life and associates GP with unpleasantness? I am worried that it would make issues worse if I make a point of it.
I don't know what I should do. Any advice? TIA

I think that there are two issues here. First, that she is calling herself 'fat' when this is obviously not the case and second that she is underweight.

How do you react when she says she is 'fat'? If I were you, I would try to react as little as possible. Just say the same thing each time (eg 'you are just the right size') and change the subject. If she is anything like my DSes she may say things like this to get a concerned reaction. My DS2 went through a phase of saying 'everybody hates me', but moved on when I started being matter-of-fact about it.

If you are concerned that she is underweight, you could increase the amount of healthy fat in her food, and decrease the volume of low calorie vegetables so that she doesn't fill up on low calorie food. In your position, unless I had immediate concerns about her health, I would just do that for a few months and track her height and weight. I wouldn't go to the GP if she would find it upsetting. But other posters might disagree (I am NOT in any way medically qualified).

Thank you ace I take on board the suggestion of my cutting down the low calorie food.
I don't make a reaction to the fat comments I just say its more important to be healthy.
Will look up what some good fats are, maybe I should change her milk back to full fat?

Hi there. Just a thought but if you are concerned enough to be contemplating speaking to gp you could discuss this without her there if she is likely to be upset? I also think taking her to gp might make her anxious about weight issues even if she isnt already.

yy to full fat milk, yoghurts etc. also bananas, avacados, nuts for good fats i think.

I read this earlier today but have only just had time to reply.

My DS sounds very much like your dd, he will never overeat, wants water rather than juice/milk etc', is very conscious of weight.

He is very thin so out of interest I did his measurements today on the BMI thing (couldn't do nhs on iPad so did web md). He came out as 1st percentile and underweight.

However when I cross referenced with his red book he is on the 9th percentile line and is following the line exactly.

Have you checked the red book to see if she has fallen or is maintaining her lines?

I'm afraid I can't help with regard to her thinking she is fat, I don't think I'm doing a great job at keeping weight issues (mine) out of his earshot so I feel very guilty about me being a bad role model, but that's obviously my issue, not related to yours!

Thank you, that is useful info. Will look at red book if I can find it, hasn't been used since she was a baby.
She was a skinny long baby too so maybe I am worrying over nothing.
She had the vomiting virus for a couple of days last week and it shocked me because her appetite is so small I feel like she will waste away.