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Children's health

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Original poster

DS2 is skinny. at what point do I worry?

21 replies

NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 08/01/2014 22:29

he is 7 yrs 6 months and weighs just over 3 stone
according to those percentage calculators that are sent to worry you in the red book
he is
At 7 years and 6 months:

your child is 45 pounds, and that is
at the 9th percentile for weight.

your child is 50.5 inches, and that is
at the 71st percentile for height.

I can see his ribs and pelvic bone at the front and back. Hmmm

OP posts:
Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 08/01/2014 22:37

bumo

OP posts:
lilyaldrin · 08/01/2014 22:42

Putting those details into the NHS children's BMI calculator, it puts him on the 0th percentile. I would keep a food diary for a week and take him to see the GP, he does sound very underweight.

MegBusset · 08/01/2014 22:47

Does he eat? Is he active and healthy? My DS1 (7 next month) is not much over 3st, he is tall and skinny and you can clearly see all his ribs. But he is energetic and happy so must be getting everything he needs

But then I haven;t looked in the red book since he was 6 months old

Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 08/01/2014 22:48

Thanks Lily.
He has energy and is fit and healthy in manner. very rarely catches germs that his brother brings home. He is just so bloody thin!
off to find the NHS one

OP posts:
Runrogrogrun · 08/01/2014 22:48

My ds1 is a couple of months older but similar weight and you can see all his bones. However I follow my instincts and am not worrying. He eats (very) well, a varied, balanced diet. He loves sport and is always on the go.
My DH (apparently) was of a similar build at the same age - although you would never think it now! I would not describe either of us as slim now but we are not overweight. Dd is younger and has much the same diet (but much less volume) and I would say she is more 'cuddly' but she is below average height. Ds2 appears very average in comparison to peers at preschool.
I would say if his diet is questionable then possibly take it further but if not try not to worry.....

paneer · 08/01/2014 22:50

my dd is slight too. she was eats healthily, we don't usually snack and eat crap (aside from Christmas).
interested in what others have to say.

Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 08/01/2014 22:53

not bad parent at all, I just have a child who is of a more robust build and a very skinny one and that made me weigh him and then it all followed from there.

on that NHS site if he is 3st 3 he is off the bottom of the chart but 3st 5 is totally normal and 3st 4 is on the chart but underweight. not much in it really.

OP posts:
KareKare · 08/01/2014 22:55

My ds is reed thin. Every bone is visible. He is 11 and weighs 4 stone.

He eats constantly and healthily, but small portions, apart from a huge breakfast.

He does masses of sport too.

Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 08/01/2014 22:56

thanks so much for all these replies. I will calm down a bit.
He does have a sweet tooth and if I let him he would eat sweet stuff all the time. but I would prefer him to have a balanced diet.

His teacher mentioned that he barely eats anything at lunchtime but has the same bouncy energy in the aftenoon as in the morning so she isn't worried but wanted to mention it so that we were aware how little he ate.

OP posts:
Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 09/01/2014 07:27

SO DH and I have been talking and we have agree that I a going to make an appointment with the GP just to put both of our minds at rest.

OP posts:
cestlavielife · 09/01/2014 10:45

keep a food diary for a week and also his activity etc so you can give that to gp .
if he is fit and healthy then maybe is just his build

meditrina · 09/01/2014 10:52

Has he always had this disparity between weight and height centiles?

Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 09/01/2014 17:26

No meditrina, he has always been on the small side of everything but has had a recent growth upwards we measured him on his birthday very early September and he has grown 2 inches.
So yesterday, food wise,
breakfast - small bowl cheerio's, 3 pieces of turnip cake glass of orange juice
lunch - roast at school (small portion)
snack - 3 moo biscuits and ribena after school
dinner - spaghetti bolognese dinner
bedtime - 1/2 pint milk

this is an average day of food for him

OP posts:
forgetandforgive · 09/01/2014 21:31

my eldest son will be 10 in April. he eats small quantity and will not eat one mouthful more if he says he's full. i took him to the docs but she said he looked fine and it was better to be thin than overweight. i disagree with her because he doesn't really enjoy his food. he's about 26 kg but not sure what that is in stone. but the whole of 2 years he only manage to put on 1kg.

beatofthedrum · 09/01/2014 21:38

Not a very sensitive response from lily...
My dd is very light too, 2.5 stone as she turns 6. Got letter from school nurse saying she was under observation and would be re-weighed in six months. I panicked when I got that. However, her skin is glowing, her hair is healthy and lovely, she has boundless energy and a great constitution - never gets bugs etc. She is just very slight and dainty. I am not particularly, I am average build, so felt a bit worried. But what can I do apart from feed her? She has a small appetite but eats healthily. Sounds like your boy may be similar. If you are worrying a visit to GP can do no harm at all. Hope you feel better after the other responses. Children do not fit into BMI calculator by the way, so don't torture yourself with that!

lilyaldrin · 09/01/2014 21:48
Confused

Insensitive in what way? The NHS use BMI for children, and 0th percentile does sound underweight.

Gileswithachainsaw · 09/01/2014 21:49

My dd is 7y 4m and weighs 44 pounds. She is probably 3 or 4 inches smaller than your Ds. She's slim and you can see her ribs and spine but I wouldn't say she was underweight.

Some people are just slim built. Unless he's constantly ill or has health issues I wouldn't worry too much. My brother started off like this. Could eat for England yet was really skinny. It doesn't last forever I can tell you that :o

LatinForTelly · 09/01/2014 22:44

Err, children do fit into the BMI calculator, just the acceptable ranges are different to adults (and for different ages of children). The NHS one is a good one to use.

He does seem quite slim, but the fact that he has lots of energy and rarely gets bugs is great. I would go and see the GP though, and just flag it up.

Original poster
NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 09/01/2014 23:17

thanks all.
I have an appointment booked for next week (not taking ds2) to talk it through with the gp. I am going alone as I really really don't want ds2 to feel concerned about anything. If the gp wants to see him we can do that but initially I would prefer to be alone.

OP posts:
beatofthedrum · 09/01/2014 23:23

My friend works specifically in weight management in the NHS at a senior level and said to disregard BMI as was not a helpful tool for child weight issues when I expressed concern. It's not my field at all, just passing on what I've been told.

LatinForTelly · 09/01/2014 23:35

Ah, I see,beat . I'm sure your friend's right, in that it's a fairly blunt tool in understanding weight issues but maybe a useful first indicator?

In my experience, paediatric endocrinologists do use them, but of course as one part of a big picture of info.

Sorry for being a bit snippy, anyway.

Good luck Never at the doctor next week.

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