Daughter labelled as overweight? :S

[MoonBanana]

Hello!
I just received National Child Measurement results for my 5 year old daughter. And the result is that she is 96th percentile overweight!!

This is shocking to me. Because we live on a plant based diet, don't even own sugar. I already meticulously plan meals.
My daughter is mixed race, her dad is an athlete and she's built a very similar shape to him. Thick thighs and just very strong in general.

Not all children are shaped the same. And it annoys me her body is already being judged and measured. I suffered with an eating disorder myself (bulimia) so I don't want the same thing to happen to my daughter.

This was a bit of rant lol.. I think my disordered eating past was triggered reading the results so I'm confused.
I don't want my daughter to struggle with her weight, I want her to be free from even thinking about it!!

That's ridiculous. As long as she eats well and is active I wouldn't worry whatsoever. Everybody is built completely differently.

No-one's judging her. The NCMP is about forward planning with regards to obesity in the UK. Without knowing how many kids are heading towards it (far too many), then it's difficult to plan for and finance.

If you're sure your kid isn't overweight then bin the letter and just be pleased that they're not part of the statistics below which actually only covers England...

14.4% of reception age children (age 4-5) are obese, with a further 13.3% overweight. At age 10-11 (year 6), 25.5% are obese and 15.4% overweight. This data is from 2020/21 and is gathered as part of the National Child Measurement Programme.

Similar here. My dc was born overweight and still is. I didn't have gdm or put on much weight. I restrict her food intake and we eat healthily. I dont give her milk or carbs like bread, cereal, rice etc, no junk food at home, only has it on special occasions like a friends party. No snacks ever. Her sibling is slim. So many of my friends kids are constantly eating snacks and rubbish, yet they are slim. I don't know what to do.

And it's completely unrealistic to want your daughter to be free from ever thinking about her weight, unless you mean while she's still a child?

As an adult, she'll have to get used to thinking about it from a health POV just as much as her teeth, eyesight, hearing, blood pressure etc.

Where is she on the height centile?

Even if it’s mostly healthy food, if portion sizes are too large then of course you can be overweight, regardless of whether or not there’s sugar in the house. As for whether or not it applies to your daughter, I have no idea though. If she’s very tall (90+ percentile) then she’s probably in proportion and I wouldn’t worry. If she’s not then maybe worth a chat with your GP.

Thank you for your response @pinkprettyroses.

@VyeBrator thats true. But I don't think BMI is a very accurate way to do it. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I care and value a healthy relationship with food. And I've always enjoyed teaching my daughter how to enjoy the 'rainbow' all the veggies and fruits.
But school now has her labelled this way and it's naturally very disappointing to read when I've put so much effort into it.

I’m completely expecting to get this letter anytime soon. I don’t know what my 5 year old weighs but I do know she’s heavy.

I also know she’s 1.2m tall and when I see her in the bath or whatever she’s not pudgy in any way at all.

It’s a flawed measure.

@MoonBanana

Thank you for your response *@pinkprettyroses*.

@VyeBrator thats true. But I don't think BMI is a very accurate way to do it. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I care and value a healthy relationship with food. And I've always enjoyed teaching my daughter how to enjoy the 'rainbow' all the veggies and fruits.
But school now has her labelled this way and it's naturally very disappointing to read when I've put so much effort into it.

What's the problem then? If she's not overweight then just carry on doing what you're doing.

If I were you I'd screw the letter up and throw it in the bin. Don't even think about it any more. You sound like a very responsible, loving mum raising your dd to have a healthy attitude towards food. I wish my dm had done the same for me. X

@RandomQuest I mentioned sugar cause the letter I received with it says to swap sugar for water.

Portion wise.. she eats from those small children's plates/bowls.

@1300cakes

Similar here. My dc was born overweight and still is. I didn't have gdm or put on much weight. I restrict her food intake and we eat healthily. I dont give her milk or carbs like bread, cereal, rice etc, no junk food at home, only has it on special occasions like a friends party. No snacks ever. Her sibling is slim. So many of my friends kids are constantly eating snacks and rubbish, yet they are slim. I don't know what to do.

Is this on the advice of a medical professional? I would be wary of cutting out food groups from a child’s diet without supervision.

@Catrice thank you!

I'll do that, literally just received the letter this morning and still processing it!

I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the letter. I find a lot of people are in denial about their child being overweight. I’m not saying this is the case with you OP, as obviously you’re concerned enough to write a post about it. Is your daughter active enough throughout the week? If she is and her meals are as healthy as you say they are then I’d try to put it to the back of your mind.

Hobbittingaroundtown Bread and cereal aren't a food group in themselves, she still eats carbs, just gets them mainly from fruit and vegetables.

I mentioned sugar cause the letter I received with it says to swap sugar for water.

This is the most frustrating thing for me. All the "helpful advice" to "cut down on sweets" and "drink water instead of juice". As if I'd give either of those things! We don't have sweets and she's never even tried juice or squash.