Is it possible for 4 yr old to overeat healthy food?

[orchardgirl4]

I've just had the height and weight letter from the school measurements that they do in their first year at school. I put the numbers into the NHS BMI calculator for children and it came up as 92nd percentile overweight. I was shocked, and then I started to worry about being blind to my child's weight and any future physical or psychological issues my child might have.
We eat so well at home, so I feel in denial it's anything we are doing, and that the weight is even an issue. Everything is cooked from scratch, lots of vegetables, fish once a week, meat once or twice, low carb, meals are often based around lentils and beans. Breakfast is a grain-free granola with natural yogurt. Pudding is twice a week e.g. homemade fruit crumble (with crumble topping made with ground almonds, seeds, oats) with custard, a small serving (3 child hand fists in total maybe). We eat bread once a week, small portion as toast with breakfast. Sweets are occasionally eaten (we get so many from school), 2 haribo from the packet for pudding, then the packet disappears into the cupboard and doesn't come out again. Snack time is straight after school, 3 dessert spoons of yogurt (Bio & Me vanilla, which has no sugar, just natural yoghurt/kefir). Sometimes with a piece of fruit too.
However, at school I think there is a lot of food. But it cannot be the reason for being overweight as it's only been nearly 4 months. Food at school: snack time is fruit, or raisins, or carrots. I think sometimes she is given two portions. The school meal is usually jacket potato with cheese, followed by sponge cake. Then lunchtime club the teacher often gives fruit and raisins to the children. Then forest school once a week there is often hot chocolate, or waffles, or pancakes, or chocolate banana in foil, marshmallows with fruit. Sometimes they get two portions. It all adds up though?
Could it be a school issue, or is it a home issue I am in denial of - I always believed children inherently ate the correct amount that they needed (of healthy food, that is). Maybe I don't realise the portion size is too big. Do I need to put more limits on home food?

Yes. Yes you do. Portion size is the issue. Too much is going in at home. They don’t get much at school, their portions are small.

Portion size might be an issue - this website has some really helpful resources about age appropriate portion sizes https://www.cwt.org.uk/publications/
What are their activity levels like?

You don't describe how your dd presents? Is she is larger than her age clothes? Growing really fast?

She generally wears her age, but I think she needs the next size up, as it is quite snug. Again, denial where I haven't realized with the clothing.
Thanks @NannyR , I will check out the portion size guide.
So it really is possible that a child can self regulate to end up eating too much of wholesome food 😩 ?

Activity: walks to school, and does a dance class once a week.

OP, if she is taking in more calories from food than she is expending through exercise then yes even if it’s very healthy food she will put on weight. It’s really not going to be from school meals.
First you need to review portion sizes, for example 3 child’s fists of dessert for a small child is actually a large portion- it should be more like one at that age. Granola plus yoghurt plus toast sounds like a lot for a 4 year old to have at breakfast etc.. Also, there’s no need for a low carb diet, carbs are an important part of a growing child’s diet, but as with everything else, they need to be in balance with the rest of the diet.
Incorporating more exercise eg through visits to the park will help too, but reducing food intake will be the main driver.

Breakfast: grain-free granola with natural yogurt. (Probably best part 250calories for the bar before you even have the yoghurt)
bread once a week, with breakfast. (75 cal if no spread)
snack time: fruit, or raisins, or carrots (125 cal)
Lunch: jacket potato with cheese (300 cal), followed by sponge cake (250 - 300cal).
Then often gives fruit and raisins. (125 cal)
Snack time after school: 3 dessert spoons of yogurt (125cal)
Sometimes with a piece of fruit. (Small apple 78cal)
Pudding is twice a week e.g. homemade fruit crumble (200 cal) with custard (120 cal)
Sweets are occasionally eaten (we get so many from school), 2 haribo from the packet for pudding,
Then forest school once a week there is often hot chocolate, or waffles, or pancakes, or chocolate banana in foil, marshmallows with fruit. (200 - 300 cal)

There's one thing strikes me. The CONSTANT eating. Kids do not need all these snacks. It's all the extras around three meals a day that are the issue.

If I add the above up (I'm excluding the forest school pudding and including your home made desert for purposes of moderation) I'm hitting about 1500cals. And I've not even added in your evening meal as part of that. I'd guess 400. - 500 as a minimum for that.

I have no idea on how big your portion size either. It could be bigger than this - these are fairly moderate portion sizes above. You can do a better estimate if you work out exactly how much she's eating.

So much do they need?:
Accordingly, for boys and girls who are moderately active at 4 years old need 1,400 calories/day and 5 years old need 1,400 calories/day. Meanwhile, boys and girls with little or no regular activity need just 1,200 calories a day between the ages of 4 and 5.

Hmm. Yes. You'd struggle to keep under that with the sheer number of snacks on your list.

Keep in mind, it doesn't matter how healthy something is - it's still calories - and you only need so many. And there's a lot there.

'Healthy' means nothing if you don't appreciate health still includes calories.

Fwiw, that's more food than I eat in a day.

Four year olds should be doing around 180 minutes of physical play and exercise a day, are there ways you can increase her activity - things like swimming, bike rides, junior parkrun, gym classes, football coaching. It's difficult to balance activity when they come home from school tired, especially when it's dark outside so early, but maybe you could fit some in at the weekend.

OP, if you are reducing portion sizes, do it very gradually - one spoonful less of each thing for a week, then two spoonfuls less until you are at the right amount. A sudden reduction might make her notice and you really don't want to be discussing weight issues at her age. She will grow into her weight.

She may also be due a growth spurt. DS1 used to get a little but tubby around his middle then suddenly shoot up and be skinny again.

Thanks @Dazedandcovidconfused I thought the pudding was so good, only twice a week, and thought the portion size spot on, but apparently not!
When my child was a baby, I read a book on feeding children, that they self-regulate calorie intake if you set them up right. I provide what the food is and when, and my child chooses how much to eat. I never ask for the plate to be cleared. I based all my food beliefs around this concept, and it just isn't right then! Then again, they did say you could leave a plate full of Oreos and children won't go crazy and eat the whole lot if such food isn't restricted (I didn't try it myself). Red flag there in that book! So I need to reevaluate these food beliefs it seems!

Hi OP don’t be disheartened, if your child is eating healthy home cooked unprocessed food that’s half the battle won, you still have lots of time to adjust portion sizes. I think in terms of children self regulating food intake- well you still have to start them off with the right amount of food in the first place. If portion sizes are consistently too high, then I’d they eat just a bit more than they need at every single meal, well there’s the problem right there.

@RedToothBrush that is part of my concern, the constant eating. It doesn't feel like that happens at home, it's breakfast, home-time snack, dinner, then with the addition of pudding twice a week. I genuinely believed we were pretty good with only having snack once a day, but for her it is actually twice or three times a day when school is included. But she has only been at school since September so I cannot blame school that much, though I am still concerned.
I think now I have noticed I can start keeping a closer eye on just how constant the eating is.
@PoppyCup thanks, I'll try and reduce slowly, spoon by spoon.

Do you think I should talk to the school about how much food is eaten there, or just concentrate on home food? I don't want to make my concerns noticeable at school and bring her any extra attention.

We have not been going to the park much, hardly at all recently since she's started school. I'll try and make more effort there, on weekends.

Sounds like very little exercise. I used to take my dgd to the playground almost every day

@Coyoacan I actually quietly patted myself on the back thinking her exercise was good with the walking 🙃 . It's dark after school now, so every day isn't possible, but I will try weekends going to the park. Life and school got in the way, I need to create the new routine better.

@Dazedandcovidconfused thanks, you are right, and so hopefully it will be relatively easy to adjust the portion size, easier than battling changing the food up.

Go swimming. That's a life skill as well as great exercise.

You should pat yourself on the back, OP, you are doing nearly everything right.

My dd hardly ate anything and was chubby until she was eight, when she suddenly got an appetite and slimmed down.

Grain free granola, ground almonds etc are high calorie.

Children don’t need to be low carb. Good Wholemeal bread, porridge: fine.

OP, how does she actually look size-wise compared to the other kids?

DS is in a school nursery and there are two kids noticeably larger than the rest.

I know what you mean about the constant eating in school though! DS is there 3h and they have toast and a snack!

Have you read Ultra Processed People? The cereal and other things you think of as healthy might actually be UPF which disrupts the appetite. I’m trying to eliminate UPFs for my kids as much as possible. Why are there so many sweets coming from school? Could you ask for this to stop and feedback the same to the forest school?

What is her height. BMI for kids isn’t the same as adults. It is height weight proportional and comparative to a population.

@Coyoacan that's good to know. I've always presumed she would lose her baby pudge when she has a growth spurt.
@Rabiz I've watched some of the YouTube videos on UPFs. The granola should be okay. The sweets come mainly from birthdays, others children bring them in for the class.
@RockAndRollerskate I think she looks fine, still baby-like on her hands, arms and legs, I can't see it as a problem as it's normal to me. She is shorter than most probably.
@BrimfulOfMash I weighed out a typical portion. 280 calories of granola and 35 calories natural yogurt, making 315 in total.

Of course! I eat really well - cook from scratch, complex carbs at one meal only etc. I'm overweight because I simply eat too much of it!
Height is important though. And look at your child compared to others. And are they active? Can they run about seemingly all day? I wouldn't go so much by the scale as how fit they are. And three child's fists size is NOT a small portion.

Homemade / homecooked doesn't mean it's calorie free? Sounds likely it's too big portions. Also shocked this is a school lunch "jacket potato with cheese, followed by sponge cake." Can you do packed lunch instead? Granola is usually very high in sugar.