dd is 130cm tall and weighs 22.5 kg. should I be worried?

[hatwoman]

according to the centile charts she's on about 16th centile for height and about 0 for weight. I've increasingly noticed how skinny her arms are. she's a bit picky and eats v small portions. unless it's pudding. she's 9, 10 in May. I don't want to make an issue of it...but am wondering if she really is too thin. any thoughts?

I have no idea about whether she is too thin or not, but I do remember I was about 4 stone when I was about 8 and shorter than that, and I was "thin", although not dangerously so.

Has she actually lost weight or is she staying the same or putting smaller amounts on? Is she maybe growing taller but not any heavier?

My maths is a bit defective, so correct me if I've got this wrong... Is she about 3 stone? My soon-to-be 8 y-o is about this weight and looks very slim (also compared to her classmates) but is quite tall. My other dd is exactly the same age as yours (10 in May) and is one of the shortest in her year, but just under 4 stone.

The difference is that both mine eat well (in dd1's case after a bad start, when she really ate very little till she was about 5) and therefore I am not worried.

I would get some advice on this. One of dd's friends was underweight for a while (and is still very slim, though OK) and her mum was told, e.g., to fry everything rather than grilling/baking it just to get some more calories into her.

Good luck!

Try the NHS BMI calculator tool.

You have posted that you are noticing that she looks thin. I wouldn't want to stop you visiting the doctor, but I think in your place, I would bump up her activity level (especially high-impact activity) and the calorie level of what she does eat, and give it six months?

just tried the nhs bmi thing - thanks for that. says she "may be" underweight. tbh I don't normally weigh her and this has only come about because she ahd a huge clear out of her bedroom today...and weighed all the stuff she was throwing out and then herself. it weighed more than her!

ok I'm going to make an effort to fatten her up and use that bmi thing to see if there's any change.

she seems healthy - does loads of gymnastics and also horse-riding, concentrates at school so I'm not overly worried, but have realised today that perhaps we need to keep a closer eye on it.

I wouldn't worry, my 8.9 dd is the same height and weight. I've spoken to numerous doctors about it (at the same time as other consultations, not especially) and they've all reassured me that she is healthy.

If she is active and alert and happy then I really wouldn't worry too much. My ds is tall and very thin (all his bones stick out in a slightly comedy way, knobbly knees and all) and when we took him to the doctor for a check up she was just incredibly pleased that he wasn't fat (this is when we were living in the USA and all kids have a annual check up). On the other hand he does eat like a horse (he's just very active).

Are there other slightly built people in your family? It could just be that's the shape she is meant to be. I would work to try and get her eating a wider range of food, perhaps helping you to cook, choosing ingredients etc? I have a picky dd myself, so I know it's hard. Nothing wrong with enjoying pudding - old fashioned ones can be very nutritious (fruit crumbles, rice puddings etc they don't have to be incredibly sweet and can up your fruit, milk and protein intake as well as carbs).

hatwoman I wouldn't worry, really. I did that nhs thing and it said DS1 was "dangerously underweight and needed to see a HCP" professional

I hightailed it to the GP who said he was perfectly healthy and to stop looking at nonsense on teh net. i told him it was NHS website