2.5 year old overweight

[CCsweet]

Hello
I have a 2.5 year old. 32 month old to be exact.
He was born on the 75th centile. He quickly shot up the centiles and by the time he was 12 months old he was on the 99th centiles for height and weight.
His weight is now on the 91st centile (weighed by nursery assistants at 2 year review). They did not do his weight. I have recently done his height and is on the 50th centile.
Neither myself or my husband are overweight. My husband was very overweight in his teenage years up until the age of 21. Now, we both have normal BMIs. My husband is 6ft and I have 5'3.
I am at a loss because I don't know how to manage my child that has a huge appetite. I am making a huge conscious effort to exclude sugary foods and for them to only be a treat when we see Grandparents etc.
When my toddler wakes he is SO hungry!
He could eat half a sachet of porridge with skimmed milk. He then may ask for more after he's eaten this. Sometime I try and drag it out by waiting 10 mins to see if he's still hungry....but he is.
Then an hour later he may ask for more breakfast. I then to offer 2-3 small homemade pancakes which I batch cook for a few days. They contain apple, oats, egg and milk.
Literally half an hour after this he may ask for some fruit. So I may give a couple of strawberries.
If he has a nursery, he may then ask for more breakfast there!
After about an hour or two after all of this he's hungry again! I can't keep up. I make a small snack box every day and these are his snacks for his day. Example of snacks may be a cracker with peanut butter, a few grapes, a few stripes of red pepper, a small amount of cheese. My toddler may not eat all of this. I want to portion control but give him some control. I have only recently started the snack box as I want to monitor what he is eating and because I was fed up of always being in the kitchen cupboards and he was also climbing up to them to try and get food! The snack box has helped a lot. It's a snack box with 6 small compartments.
My toddler rarely has pudding after meals and if he asks for more he may have some greek yoghurt or fruit.
Before he goes to bed at night, he may ask for a breadstick.
I am trying to distract from food... especially when I think he is bored. There have been a few times where I have told him no more food for now, we have had tears. I have stuck to my boundaries. I am not depriving him of hunger but trying to set boundaries and offer healthy options if required. I know toddlers can eat like horses sometimes but should I be saying no to food right now? This is all new to me as I have never been in a situation where a member of my family has been overweight.
I am tempted to call the HVs for some advice as I don't want to cause issues or even issues as he grows in to an older child/adult.
Maybe I am just worrying too much. I am hoping that he may just shoot up and balance out a bit more.
When I am not working we probably spend 2-3 hours outdoors or at soft play.
He attend a forest school nursery twice a week, so is active there.
Has anyone had any experiences?
I am a mum trying my best and just want to get things right.
Thank you 😁

See a specialist to see if there is any issues. If there are none, make sure you give your child healthy food, make the effort to try and find physical activities which they genuinely like, and for the rest stop worrying.
I was overweight until 10 years old and got so much abuse and despise from my father for that. He was slim at that age, so I should be to.
The weight made no difference, it did not hurt me or hinder me. The criticism and hurtful words did make a difference, made me feel like I was so wrong that no even my father would like me. Made me blind to the fact that other people liked, because what do they know, my parents know everything.

At 10 my metabolism changed and I was suddenly slim and pretty nice looking.
Do not make a problem if there is not one, because you will make a real problem for your child.
An overweight but active, happy child, is just fine.
Like growing plants, when young they benefit from eating what is required by their metabolism.
Of course do consult a specialist in case there are other reasons, but do not improvise based on your feelings and fears.

Thank you so much for your time in your response @NorthSouthLondon .
Your post provided some comfort and sending you hugs with what you experienced growing up with the criticism. Kids can be cruel and those are also my worries. My nephews are still young, ages 3-7 and have called our son 'fat' before. I know kids say what they see however I have felt the need to respond to those comments, in a positive manner. They have actually been on the smaller side growing. All children are different. My husband was bullied growing up because of his weight and I don't want that for our son. My husband is now fit and active and is in the military.
My family and his family are all quite solid looking but somehow normal ish BMIs.
Exactly that, I don't want to cause issues if there are none. I really don't want my actions to effect him hence why I may speak to a health visitor for reassurance or advice.
Fortunately we are super active, to be honest sometimes I wish that we could stop and chill lol. I am trying my best with offering healthy options and to be honest we only have healthy ish foods in the house. It's rare that we have sweet treats. It's normally when we go to Grandparents or family, they seem to always chocolate and cake when we visit. I try and limit but when it's in front of my child it can be challenging without seeming like the cruel mother. So I try to portion control. Everything in moderation.
Thank you so much, all I want is a healthy and happy child.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Kids grow and change at an alarming rate. Mine was underweight at that point and we fretted, then she was over weight for about a year and we fretted. Her entire baby/toddlerhood was fretting about weight and now she is 15, she's doing fine and I wonder if it was worth the stress we had. She has always gone through phases of eating a lot and eating barely anything.

You are mirroring good habits around the kids of foods you are offering. Plenty of fruits and veg etc. No doubt someone will be along to pick apart the diet and claim it is too much of x,y,z, but your best bet, if you are concerned is to ask for a dietician referral who might be able to advise on the constant hunger and how to deal with it. I'd probably try to have fixed times for food to avoid constant eating becoming habitual rather than because of hunger, but I'm not an expert so that might not be the solution.

At 2 and a half, just let him eat. He knows his body and has a lot of growing to do. What are you basing it on that he's overweight? Has someone told you this? If what he is eating is all healthy, and he gets plenty of protein, healthy fats, and veg, just let him eat what he wants.

My 3 year old has days where he has 3 breakfasts: porridge followed by egg and soldiers followed by whatever else. They take stretches, are so active, and go through so many developmental leaps that they need it. Often my 3 year old manages to eat more than me, but he's about a million times more active and never stops running, climbing, cycling etc.

Why are you giving him skimmed milk? Give him whole milk in his porridge.

My 2.5 year old is similar, 91st centile height and 99th weight, but these are the centiles he's been tracking since he was 3 or 4 months so the health visitor who was out recently said he's just perfectly in proportion and healthy!

My eldest was too heavy for his height at this age but is almost 6 now and has shot up in height without gaining any more weight and is now skinny for his age! I honestly wouldn't worry. Focus on giving them a balanced diet, they will go through phases of eating more and eating less and unless they are very inactive it will balance out.

So how much overweight is he exactly?

Give full fat milk with his porridge and a boiled egg not pancakes. I have to say oats never fill me up,I can eat an enormous bowl and be hungry and hour later,I'm not the same with Weetabix weirdly.

He's probably going through a growth spurt and in a couple of months time will be a different shape altogether.

He might be due a growth spurt and he’ll suddenly shoot up and then be in proportion again. However, I wouldn’t be trying to restrict his meals. I don’t understand the logic of refusing more porridge and making it with skimmed milk not whole but then after only a short time letting him have pancakes, fruit, another breakfast at nursery, a snack box. Focus on giving him filling healthy meals with plenty of protein. The cake at Grandma’s for example will be less of a temptation if he’s full when he gets there, and then hopefully he’ll be happy to have a small piece and it doesn’t need to become a big thing. Also, are you sure you measured him accurately? 2YOs are wiggly so it’s hard to be totally accurate at home, and because they’re small a tiny error can actually make quite a big difference to a BMI measurement.

Cant he just have more porridge, add fruit? Then he won't still be hungry

Make the porridge with whole milk, and try stirring some nut butter and/or putting a few berries or a bit of grated apple into it.
I'd try doing this and letting him eat as much of that as he wants, then see if he is still hungry an hour later. A more filling breakfast might help with the snack later.

Also you mention 'half a sachet of porridge' what's in that? Is it the quick cook stuff? If it is then its worth trying making porridge just with oats and milk. The oats will be bigger so more filling.

Half a sachet of porridge is barely anything tbh.

Does he drink enough water?

Also, i would go with full fat everything because lowere fat i.e. skimmed milk had artificial sweeteners in.

Does he eat vegetables, beef up his meals with veg and protein.

I would speak to HV for advice if you are concerned.

Were there any issues with gestational diabetes?

Ignoring the numbers- is he actually over weight or just a big child? As in does he have lots of excess body fat or just tall and heavy? Does he have trouble being physically active, ie does it stop him running and jumping and climbing?

I don't have kids but bmi is a very blunt tool for adults, it must be even worse for growing children? And 2.5 is barely out of toddler hood, is some chubbiness unusual at this age? I'd expect him to shoot up in height at some point and it all even out?
I was 3 years younger than my sister and from about 5 I was as big or bigger than her, overtook her and kept going! I wasn't fat at all as a kid (am now) but was just bigger

Seek medical advice if you’re worried but from your list of what he eats I’m not seeing much fat or protein.

My children have very different food tastes one likes peanut butter on toast for breakfast and the other likes full fat greek yoghurt, fruit and seeds. Their favourite snack at the moment is cooked chicken cut into strips with cucumber and pepper.

Reduce the processed stuff. Use proper porridge oats instead of something processed in a packet. Give him protein like eggs rather than processed pancakes. Try to aim to massively increase his intake of fresh foods rather than packets/tins/etc - drastically reduce anything processed, particularly things with long sell by dates which will be full of additives. Bulk up meals with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables - reduce processed pasta, rice etc.

@Onlyvisiting makes a good point. Can you clearly see his ribs?

My daughter at the same age was 99th centile for weight and height. Every HV appointment we were told she was overweight and we needed to feed her less etc..... at the age of 8 she is now 91st centile for height and 50th for weight and she eats a lot less than she did as a toddler and pre schooler. I just think it's normal for some kids.

I wouldn't worry too much at this age. I would probably focus on giving him more food, and more filling foods at mealtimes. And reduce the snacks. I think too many snacks can become habit. And it's hard to find lots of snacks that are healthy and filling. My youngest is very snack oriented and I often end up giving unhealthy options when I'm out of ideas. Plus he never really gets 'full'.

My two (at 3) would have had a whole bowl of porridge/2 weetabix with dried fruit and flaxseed. Plus a banana/fruit, and a half a piece of toast/half a croissant/small pancake with peanut butter. I would also give him full fat stuff, and try offering a drink before giving a snack too.

A sachet of porridge is tiny. My 3 year old loves porridge but I just cook oats in whole milk for him and the portion is definitely bigger than one of those sachets.

Yes to adding things. We love bananas, raspberries and peanut butter, or grated carrot/apple, raisins and cinnamon.

I wouldn't worry as long as he is active. He could be going through a growth spurt.
My son and my grandsons were both very round and solid at that age. By then time they were 5 they were very lean.

At this age it's all about what they eat and not how much.

I'd up the protein at breakfast time, he may be a top loader and need a big, filling breakfast. You can add peanut butter or seeds to his porridge. Or offer eggs instead. Or both.

Let him snack on carrot sticks/peppers/cucumber or apple/melon/grapes. Don't limit this. No child ever became overweight because they ate too many carrots.

I think he's maybe just having a few too many carbs and bit enough protein

Keep him active. Swimming is great exercise (and good for winter).

Full fat in everything.
More protein.
Porridge sachets are full of sugar, make overnight oats that you can heat up or eat cold, oats, chia and flax seeds, spoon of peanut butter, spoon of apple sauce or apples or banana. You can make a week/ months worth of dry ingredients if you have enough pots and then just add the wet ones the night before.
Swap pancakes for a hardboiled egg

His snack box isn't filling and needs more protein.
Or low calorie foods he can eat at high density like cucumber sticks.

Unless the doctor has told you he is overweight I'd move him to more filling food in the morning. Porridge with skim milk isn't cutting it.

If he's 50th for height and 91st for weight, there's only two percentile lines between and I was always told that was fine. Does he look chubby? What size clothes is he in?
Both my boys are on 91-95th for weight and 75th for height, they had little pot bellies but at just gone 5 are in age 5-6 clothes. They too eat a ton, but they're always active and I just try and make sure there's healthy choices in there amongst the other stuff

Also it sounds like he's due a growth spurt, it's not unusual for children to store fat and then stretch out.

Have you actually done his BMI?

Being on a higher centile for weight than height won't necessarily mean he's overweight.