3 year old apparently underweight- should I be concerned?

[MrsKCastle]

DD2 is 3y 2m. Up till today I hadn't weighed/measured her since she was a baby but it's clear that she's very slim compared to others her age-ttrousers/skirts age 2-3 won't stay up and I had to buy her leggings in 18-24 months the other day.

So I measured her today:

Height- 92cm (above 9th percentile)
Weight- 11.0kg (just under 2nd percentile)

Putting those details into online bmi calculators (for children) she comes up as underweight. Not sure whether to worry or not.

She eats well, is otherwise healthy and is pretty active.

Might be worth a trip to GPs or HV. Don't forget of course that some kids have to be smaller for averages to work, but has she always been diddy? If she used to be 90th and is now small it might be worth checking out but if she's always been those percentiles I wouldn't worry. BMI is for adults isn't it?

Sorry - just saw you'd checked bmi for kids.

She's always been on the small side (was only 6lb 4oz at birth) but I didn't realize that she was quite so low on the centiles. I'm not really concerned- as I say she seems healthy- but she does look very very slim for such a small child.

If she's significantly dropped centile a then yes take her, but if she's always followed that line then I wouldn't worry.

Please don't take offence but has she been wormed?

If it's a dramatic weight loss then a parasite could e contributing.

No harm in a check up though.

It's not unusual, and as you say, she's healthy and energetic. As ever though, if you are concerned, then speak to your GP.

Has she dropped down the centiles significantly?

Both mine have always been a higher height centile than weight - at 4, DD1 was midway between the 25th and 50th for height and exactly bang on the 9th for weight.

At 3, DD2 was bang on the 75th for height, and midway between the 25th and 50th for weight.

They have always had a similar height:weight ratio, and it's never been flagged as a problem.

You don't have to be on the same centile for weight and height, and 9th and 2nd centile are close together anyway; I think it might be a concern if weight and height are seperated by more than one centile line.

But speak to your HV or GP if you are worried.

Thanks all. She's only gone from the 9th to the 2nd on weight, so not a huge drop- although the last measurement was at 18 months.

I think I'll just keep an eye on her weight, give it a couple of months and see the GP if she doesn't seem to be gaining well.

Giles- I hadn't thought of worms, but she doesn't seem to have any obvious symptoms. I'll keep it in mind!

What were you and her father like at that age? If you were skinny children, then it's not unlikely to have a skinny child. OTOH if you were more average build or bigger children, then it's more unusual.

But generally, if children have plenty of energy and aren't prone to getting sick a lot, then there's not likel to be anything particularly 'wrong'

She eats well, is otherwise healthy and is pretty active

then don't worry

she is fine. just slim.

Thanks again, everyone.

AMumInScotland that's a good point. I was fairly skinny as a child and I think DH was as well.

DD2 should be due for her pre-school HV check soon, but in the meantime I'll stop worrying!