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Children's health

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Original poster

DS on 99th centile...any advice please?

28 replies

Needingsomeadvice · 21/07/2014 19:47

DS is 7.5. He was a premature baby, so small for his age until about 3, at which point he shot up height wise and seemed to catch up overnight. His build is chunky, has broad shoulders and looks very solid. His dad is the same (plus overweight) and his paternal grandfather too (he is very tall). I am also always struggling with my weight, as is most of my family.

DS is 4ft 2 and weighs 5st 10 currently. We try to feed him healthily but he nags constantly for food, seems very greedy and always complains of hunger and thirst. He is starting to thicken around the middle and I am trying to help him without making it a big issue, but I am so worried as DH and I were similar at that age and still struggle.

I know that there is a lot of government advice, but does anyone have any ideas on how to help him slim down as he grows and become a better weight? My own mother put me on diets from age 9 and that obviously did not help so I am worried I will also get it wrong .

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Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 21/07/2014 20:13

PS. On the positive side, he eats loads of fruit and veg and is not a fussy eater. He just has a mismatch between how much he wants to eat and how much is appropriate I think

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Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 22/07/2014 13:47

Bumping

OP posts:

GermyElephant · 22/07/2014 13:49

What centile is he on for height?

nomoretether · 22/07/2014 13:51

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1479381950?pc_redir=1404245415&robot_redir=1

This is a helpful book.

catchingzzzzeds · 22/07/2014 13:53

I would put a bowl of veg sticks in the fridge and a limited amount of fruit out and tell him he can help himself to those anytime. This way he'll have a little control. I would also buy smaller dinner plates so his plate still looks full but you can serve less, be careful you're not overloading with carbs.
I don't know your habits at the mo but I would say he can have 1 treat on a Saturday and Sunday. I'm just about to introduce this as I've noticed our treats have crept up somehow!

BravePotato · 22/07/2014 13:58

Maybe it would work for all of you to eat a "traditional" 3 meals a day, with little snacking in between. Just normal food, so for breakfast cereal/toast/eggs/fruit, for lunch school dinner or sandwich, a snack after school (1 or 2 biscuits/crackers/fruit and some juice or water), then a dinner of protein (fish, meat) and vegetables (any, one or two) and carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta). Some fruit or yoghurt for pudding, only have ice cream/rich puddings once or twice a week.

No soft drinks, not even diet drinks. One glass of juice a day is ok, then water or milk

No take aways/kids' meals/McD, it is all junk

If you eat pizza, make one yourself.

Don't eat crap like sausage rolls and take aways ever, IMO

(maybe you eat like this already, I don't know)

Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 22/07/2014 14:07

germy The NHS calculator thing says he is 99th centile for his height. I have noticed him put weight on this year but he was on 95th in reception.

Nomoretether I will look at that book...thanks.

catchingzzzzeds Good idea. I have cut out juice and cut down his milk as he can get a bit greedy with them. We have bought a huge pitcher which we have filled with water in the fridge at all times and transfer to the table for lunch. And since it has occurred that he doesn't nag so much if something isn't there I am going to just stop buying things.

It's difficult as with Dd's ASD and food issues I have let things slip somewhat, being glad that she eats anything at all. I do give him a small plate and the same amount as his sister. Left to his own devices he would just eat and eat. And he is very insistent with his nagging. I have also caught him stealing his sister's food, which she's only just had the verbal ability to complain about (she is 4 but speech delayed).

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Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 22/07/2014 14:21

Sorry brave potato cross posted - thanks.

Food wise, it has been usually

Weetabix for breakfast
Packed lunch at school - one slice of bread or mini snack roll sandwich, 2 types of fruit, sometimes a babybel or a yogurt, water bottle filled with water usually
Dinner is usually half sized portion of what we have, with veg of some sort.
They have a bedtime snack which is either fruit, yogurt, or sometimes pudding if we have one planned. This is to avoid his constant "I am hungry!" tantrums and to help DD with routines (and to give her a further chance to eat since she eats very little).

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GermyElephant · 22/07/2014 15:09

But if his height and weight are on the same centile or pretty close then he's not at all overweight. He's in proportion!

GermyElephant · 22/07/2014 15:15

www.thefamilygp.com/body_mass_index_calculator.aspx

GermyElephant · 22/07/2014 15:16

That calculates his BMI at 22.5.

AMumInScotland · 22/07/2014 15:29

There are two measurements for centiles and weights - it's important to know which kind you're talking about here.

If you are looking up his height and weight in the red book, or similar charts, and he is 99th centile for both, then that is fine as he is in proportion.

If he's been weighed at school, then the result would be saying that he is in the 99th centile of weight even taking into account his height. And that makes a huge difference to his proportions, as it would mean that he is definitely heavy even for a very tall child his age.

Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 22/07/2014 15:39

As I am saying...he is 7 so can't find his red book. But it says on NHS site when I chart his weight and height plus age that he is far too heavy. I don't know where 4ft 2 figures in terms of centiles for height.

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Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 22/07/2014 15:40

Germy elephant, that chart you linked to does not apply to children unfortunately.

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AMumInScotland · 22/07/2014 15:47

OK if you're using a reputable website that takes in height, weight, and age then the result stands - he genuinely is heavy.

Have you tried giving him a drink - preferably water of course - when he says he is hungry/thirsty? It can be hard to work out which you are and you could find that dealing with the thirst is enough to make him feel satisfied, and he wasn't really hungry after all.

And maybe up the veg and reduce the fruit, if he's happy eating either, as there is a lot of sugar in the fruit.

GermyElephant · 22/07/2014 15:50

DS's red book puts your DS on 91st centile for weight and between 9th and 25th for height. Sorry for confusing the issue, i understand now!

Rowgtfc72 · 25/07/2014 20:53

Dd is seven and on the same centile for height and weight as your Ds. She's 136 cm and weighs five and a half stone. Shes solid, not overweight.She's also constantly hungry but always on the go. We allow sweets when she remembers to ask for them which to be honest isn't very often. She has a yoghurt after her tea, not a fruit fan. she's done healthy eating at school so knows about sensible choices. We do do the three meals a day very few snacks.
Whatever you choose to do, involve your Ds

fledermaus · 25/07/2014 20:59

The NHS BMI calculator puts him in the "very overweight" category. I think if I were you I would ask the GP for a referral to a dietitian for advice.

136cm and 5st 7 is also overweight, 95th centile for BMI.

MissBeans · 25/07/2014 21:09

How much physical exercise does your Ds get daily? I believe a sedentary lifestyle is to blame in most cases with obesity.

Layl77 · 25/07/2014 21:18

Can you walk to school, enrol him in sports after school and take him to the park more often?

sanfairyanne · 26/07/2014 18:34

if he is very overweight and so are his wider family, i would seek gp help with a view to some kind of dietician advice etc

sixlive · 26/07/2014 18:41

Exercise everyday for an hour. Increase Portion size of veg and fruit and decrease high cal food on the plate.

What does he drink it should only be water as the norm. We allow juice/fizzy once a week.

Original poster

Needingsomeadvice · 27/07/2014 10:33

OK thanks for all of the replies!

sixlive I recently cut out all juice and milky drinks as he can be greedy with them. We have a pitcher of water on the table. Absolutely never allowed fizzy and even if he were, he doesn't like it.

Layl77 We do walk to school and everywhere, because I don't drive. We go to soft play after school at least once a week and the park is on the way home so we go there quite a lot. He used to do lots more sports clubs after school but he was getting stressed about it, so we cut it down to swimming at the weekend and games (ie sports not board!) club during the week.

MissBeans He could probably do more organised exercise but he struggles with social interaction (being investigated currently for AS as this has been my concern for several years now) and was finding the previous schedule too stressful - he needed to come home and have some alone time basically.

I am organising for him to go back to his dancing but at a different studio after the holidays (he wanted to leave the last one as there were no longer other boys and he wasn't fitting in socially or ability wise as most of girls were older). I am also organising tennis for him through school and he is carrying on with swimming lessons. I don't drive so we have to walk to the swimming lessons, the tennis lessons and the dancing classes (all venues are 1-2 miles away). I also have DD who has ASD, very anxious about going anywhere and doing anything and won't stay with anyone else. She is also starting school in September so will probably be extra overwhelmed and tired and I won't be able to focus on her in the daytime like I used to. It's going to be quite tough.

To be fair on DS, he is not that sedentary even when he is in. He is currently on his Wii after his breakfast but he is playing on his wii fit game and in between bouncing around, launching himself off the sofa and jumping up and down waving his arms! We are going out with the scooters once all of us are ready. I do however worry that history will repeat itself with him having two overweight parents who have struggled with weight issues since childhood. I think maybe we have let it slip a bit while trying to juggle the food issues of his sister who won't eat much of anything, but we were extremely careful with him in his early years regarding junk food etc (so much so my family would be quite scathing and say things that alluded to feeling sorry for him not getting any 'treats' etc ). He only recently tried lemonade at my mum's house for the first time. He didn't like it.

I think I am going to continue as we have this week, being observant over how much he is eating and cutting out all unnecessary extras, making sure we do lots of active things (we have walked miles this week) and then check his weight on the same machine again towards the end of the holidays to make sure he hasn't put on any more at least .

OP posts:

Georgethesecond · 27/07/2014 10:42

When kids are overweight it is almost always a combination of two things - unnecessary "treat" foods/ drinks and over large portions. Try to focus on both.

sanfairyanne · 27/07/2014 10:53

yes to reducing portion size and treats. just dont buy any biscuits at all, for instance
we all lost weight when i did this!

is the eating perhaps an attention thing? my youngest does this. every time he says he is hungry, maybe do an activity with him instead?

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