Daughter now classed as overweight in 97th percentile.

[trumphy]

Dear all, I am feeling absolutely wretched. I have become increasingly concerned over my daughters weight gain over the last 6 months. According to the NHS BMI calculator she is now in the severely overweight bracket. I have been to the Drs and she is referring me to the hospital paediatrician for blood tests etc. My daughter has also been constipated since birth and has always had a very swollen tummy, so I think this also has an impact on her weight. We are a very health conscious family. I don't buy junk food and cook meals at home, we exercise regularly. My other daughter does not have this problem and my husband and I are not overweight. I am wondering if something else is affecting her. Possibly a thyroid problem. I feel so helpless. We are taught that if we eat healthily and exericse we will be a healthy weight, but she continues to get bigger. Not sure what I want from everyone on here but I feel so worried and distraught. No one else I can talk to. Has anyone else had a problem with this? Possibly with chronic constipation and weight gain?

[Lillyaan]

Just to put your mind at rest because you are not alone. This very same issue is being voiced by many parents across the UK and causing some distress due to misunderstanding/ lack of information.
EG. Due to pressure on the Public Health Department to address the growing obesity problem in the UK, the implementation of the programme went ahead without public information /advertisment to explain it.
The NHS utilising the BMI chart from (World Health Organisation) selected the 97th percentile simply as the CUT OFF POINT.
Firstly one needs to consider the childs Birth centile. Was she (above 50th? near the 97th? or thereabouts? in addition to family genetics (tall/small) & medical history.
The following example is how one should read the chart.
3% of children will be below the 3rd centile and 3% above the 97th.
15% will be below the 15th centile and 15% above the 85th.
50% will be below the 50th centile and 50% above the 50%. = Read as 50% of the normal population will be below this line and 50% above it.

If a childs weight is 'OFF THE CHART' (ABOVE 97th centile) it is wise to have this checked but in many cases all is well. Also consider the 'confidence' long term effects on a child where lots of tests may emphasise or highlight a 'weight' problem.
Not entirely sure about your worry re- Thyroid problem as there are other very obvious factors you would have noticed and you have not mentioned.

[trumphy]

Thank you everyone. We have an appointment in Jan so fingers crossed we will get somewhere with it.

[Inmyopinion1]

I don't think that screening with TsH only will uncover all cases which is why I took pains to point out that that is all that is looked for (on the newborn screening program). However, outside of pituitary problems it tends to be very effective and many hospital labs will only run TSH when asked to do a thyroid profile. Demanding free T3 and T4 from the GP will likely not be well received.

[Inmyopinion1]

Pictures of children with congenital hypothyroidism (or what used to be called cretinism) are likely unhelpful here. All children are screened for hypothyroidism, albeit by TSH only (the stimulating hormone as opposed to the actual thyroid hormones), and there is a very effective national programme for this. If she is doing well in school and keeping up with her peers I wouldn't be concerned about the congenital form. Later onset thyroid disease isn't typically seen at that age.

Whilst there are conditions that lead to children being large they are invariably linked with over eating (the condition makes the child "hyperphagic") or the child has limited exercise. Whilst some people are constitutionally larger than others, this is often exacerbated by those families also eating more and giving their children larger portion sizes than required.

I'm afraid that ultimately weight gain is caused too much energy in and not enough expended and ultimately that's what will need to be changed.

[Sarahplane]

Let us know how your dd gets on at the doctors. I hope you get some answers.

[trumphy]

Thanks for everyones input. I am off to bed now but will check in tomorrow morning.

[trumphy]

When I was diagnosed with underactive thyroid I didn't have all the symptoms. I didn't put on lots of weight but was unable to lose any of the weight gained during pregnancy. I was totally spaced out and foudn it hard to focus on anything, plus my hair got thin. My doctor said that because I was in the early stages it was easier to treat and that coincided with my pregnancy with my daughter and my diagnosis. Could she have been affected during pregnancy?

[trumphy]

Sarahplane, she doesn't feel the cold and I think her eyebrows are ok. She is a bit forgetful sometimes and is a bit of a dreamer.

[Sarahplane]

Trumphy thyroid problems do run in family's so it's much more likely if you have an under-active thyroid.

[hazeyjane]

My dd2 is similar, she eats less than my dd1, who is a skinny little thing. Dd2 (5.6) has constipation and her tummy is always a round ball.

The underactive thyroid thing is interesting, Leonie, dd2 and I both suffer from most of the list of symptoms.

[Sarahplane]

As a child I started gaining weight around age 8. Especially my belly and my face. I got diagnosed with an underactivd thyroid at 11 after 2 years of doctors appointments as the doctors had tested me for everything else but didn't think to test my thyroid because of my age. It might not be that but definitely worth testing. Does your dd have any other symptoms such as feeling cold or sparse eyebrows?

[trumphy]

She is 3 feet 10 inches. She doesn't appear to be any shorter than her classmates, but I don't know what the avergage height for her age should be.

[MrsCantSayAnything]

is she a normal height op? I understand an underactive thyroid can slow growth...

[trumphy]

LeonieDelt, yes I have wondered if it is an underactive thyroid problem. I was diagnosed with that about 3 years ago. Do you think it could be passed on?

[trumphy]

PartyFops, her belly is rather big all day, but particularly after she has eaten.

[trumphy]

duchesse, interesting point. My husbands family are rather bigger built than mine and his sister is on the larger side. Not fat, just bigger built.

[PartyFops]

Does her belly stay bigger all day or go up and down?

(am interested in this thread as my dd is a chunk, and has a large belly, also sometimes gets very constipated).

[trumphy]

My GP did ask about her diet. But she said because constipation had been a problem since birth and because she had been on Movicol for three years with no improvement that it needed to be looked into further. In general her development is good, her speech and communication is excellent. But she has struggled with reading and writing. She is being assessed at the moment for dyslexia.

[duchesse]

Do you have any larger built people in your family that she might have inherited her build from? If she is eating the same as your other child, without snacking etc, eating healthy food and exercising sufficiently for her age, then I would seriously push testing for various conditions that could cause this. Especially as you sound very worried- a mother's intuition is a very powerful thing.

[trumphy]

She's always been chubby, which I didn't think was a problem when she was a bady and a toddler. But all her weight seems to be on her belly which worries me.