What's your opinion of my child's weight?

[poachedeggs]

Following my rant in AIBU the other day, I've been discussing DS's weight with a couple of friends. Their opinion surprised me.

Pic on profile, what do you think?

Hmm. I would say that he has a little too much padding. Kids should be lean. He could be heading for a growth spurt soon, and will stretch upwards?

I wouldn't worry too much. But obv you have concerns, so just keep an eye on him.

It just shows how perceptions vary. I was really surprised how overweight he is, even though we expected him to be too heavy. But the friends I spoke to were shocked that I even thought he was chubby.

Work to be done but I'm sure we can sort it subtly with a few tweaks. He's also doing fewer activities since starting school in August because he's been tired, but he's better now so after Christmas we'll hopefully have it sorted out.

Exactly. They are so easy up and down. Doesn't take much to make a subtle change. Honestly, don't worry. Just watch and make those little changes on the quiet.
There are a few of us in the same boat.
HTH

Certainly looks well covered to me. None of my boys had little man boobs like your son has.

how old is he op?

my dd is stick thin, she is 15, but at 10 she really filled out, i think its fairly normal for kids to put a bit of meat on their bones before they shoot up....she is horrified now by pics of her at 10 but she really wasnt chubby, she just clearly had a bit of puppy fat, she is now 5ft 7 and 8st 5, i would never ever mention a childs weight for fear of making them conscious of it. he will shoot up and he will lose the puppy fat. im pretty sure thats normal.

I'd say he was a little on the chubby side, but mot horrendously so.

My DC are probably under weight though.

What Rotavirus said, because there are so many obese children, we have forgotten what normal looks like.

Sounds like you are on top of things though.

Dd1 was on 95th centile at 4.5yrs we were told ahe was obese by school! She totally was not it was just chubbiness! She's now 8.5 skinny as rake and bordering on slightly underweight due to all activities she does!,
He looks normal to me tbh especially for his young age

My ds was at the top end of normal weight and he is not as chunky as your little fellow.

The photo looks like a normal healthy child to me. I can't see any hint of chubbiness.

how old is he?

He's 5.

He is overweight but not in any way you'd notice if he was dressed I think. He doesn't have the sharp contours you'd expect of a child his age, more softness round the edges. He just has an extra bit of covering right now. You are right.

Are you happy with his diet/portion sizes? Do you do sport/exercise as a family?

I think for 5 he is def overweight - on my ds you can clearly see his ribs and collar bones, and no sign of (sorry, can't think of nicer term) moobs.

How is his portion sizes ? Its hard to hold their weight on activity alone

His diet is ok but he has a limitless appetite and I have to watch him for overdoing the carbs. He would live on bread happily. He has porridge with fruit for breakfast, fruit snack, packed lunch inc sandwich, natural yogurt, carrot or tomatoes, after school an oatcake and peanut butter then whatever for dinner. It's all good but he is never full.

He is fairly active, cycling or walking daily, plus swimming once or twice a week. He could certainly do more though.

DH and I are both overweight but we both run and cycle regularly. We usually walk or cycle together as a family a the weekend, plus swimming.

I think we're probably not far off doing things right but need to watch portions and maintain activity levels.

I think if you're overweight as a family but doing lots of activity then perhaps portion sizes are your problem. And it's something you can all do together.

Does he drink enough? While eating and inbetween times? DD is also 5 and on days when she's hungry constantly, we insist she has a good drink and wait a while before eating. Hunger and thirst feel exactly the same. Fewer carbs perhaps, more protein. Maybe a bit of a family overhaul of diet.

What percentile is he on for height?

I think he looks chubby, but not drastically so.

Btw I think often friends want to be kind or say what you want to here so I wouldn't pay too much attention to that.

I think portions is probably the issue. We have a very good diet on the whole, carbs are brown rather than white usually, lots of veg, minimal fried food, sweets and cakes etc are occasional and not available whenever. I'm pretty conscious of nutrition but the portions possibly less so. And DS does need to be told when to stop (hence me not allowing school lunches except for occasional days).

He looks a bit chubby, cant see his "legs bums and tums", but can see he has puppy fat on his "breasts".

My son looks pretty much the same, apart from his chest which is totally flat in comparison. My son swims twice a week though, in addition to basket ball and other after school sports and PE. Swimming does wonders for the chest, shoulders and arms.

Cant believe he is down as "obese" though!
That is almost a mockery!

Blimey, if that is classed as obese then god knows what they'd have my son down as. He is overweight (due to medication), but i bet they'd put him at moribidly obese or something.

I think your son looks just fine.

He's 75th for height iI think. Let me check.

I would say he is overweight. My ds and dd had no folds under arms and can see ribs and collarbone.

He looks muscly rather than fat to me. Muscle is heavier than fat.