Is she fat

[catty1234]

My 12 yr old DD is 5 foot 8 and weighs 9.5 stone. She never eats breakfast even though I make it for her and if she does eat she will eat 1 piece of toast, for lunch she will have a salad. I do offer her packed lunch/ school dinner but she only likes to have tuna salad for lunch. I am just wondering if this is a healthy weight for my DD or is she over weight.
Thanks in advance

I'm pretty sure its not but not sure how BMI works for children so suggest bmi calculator on the nhs choices website to check

She is NOT overweight.

She doesn't sound overweight to me. She is the height of an adult woman so it seems logical that she weighs as much as an adult woman.

Don't know if it helps but I'm 5'8" and weigh 13 st and I am overweight. I'm also 34, but I would say that height and weight and age are ok?does she look thin? It doesn't sound like she's overweight though, if anything, underweight.

I just joined weight watchers and am 5ft 8. They recommend my weight to range from 9stone 6 - 11stone 3. So she's defniately not overweight.

I am 5'4" and 9.5 stone, and within the healthy weight for my height, so I'd say your DD is definitely not overweight!

I'd be skinny at that weight for the height. Why are you asking does she look overweight?

she doesn't look overweight but any fat she has goes straight to her tummy she has the skinneys legs ever but she has a sticky out belly. she does 100 sit ups in the morning, runs to school, does net ball after school on a Tuesday and dodge ball on a Friday the walks home or to the town centre depends what day it is. Can i ask if anyone knows a away she can get rid of her belly fat?
Thanks!

Unfortunately, you cannot spot reduce fat in that way. She is only 12. She won't have finished maturing into her body yet.

I'd definitely look at the NHS BMI calculator, it definitely works differently for children (ie, they're not meant to be the same weight as an adult!)

If you put in the figures & she seems from that to be overweight, I would have thought the best thing might be to talk to someone (nurse maybe?) at your doctors surgery? They could (a) tell you whether you should be worried and (b) if so suggest useful ways forward to make sure she's healthy without risking pushing her towards obsession / eating disorders etc (not saying you would, but important to be careful).

Really! I just tried her on it and it said she was 75th centile? I don't know what that means but I'm guessing it is good as its in the green area?

The website has info on it about what is ok & what not - as you say I'd assume in the green area = fine. Presumably at 12 she's still got growing to do, so it has to come from somewhere!

I suppose she might be a little overweight if she is only 12 years old.

My dd is 12, about 5'6" and still weighs under 8 stone. Pre-teens are meant to be skinnier than the rest of us mere mortals.

However, I would certainly not make a big deal of it! Are you sure she isn't snacking on junk on her way to/from school?

Are you kidding? Why are you asking how she can add to her already gruelling body fascist routine - I can't believe a 12 year old girl is exercising within such a rigid routine, and not eating anything to speak of. Are you not worried about this?

Mintyy the NHS BMI calculator takes age into account and the op's dd is well into the green zone, so your unscientific opinion could do a lot of harm. The girl is missing meals, exercising and has a mother worried about belly fat... the last thing she needs is an ignorant stranger comparing her healthy dd to another healthy weight girl--- normal is a wide range you know!
I'd be very worried why a girl of 12 felt it necessary to do 100 sit ups every morning and why her dm thought she was in need of a diet when she misses meals and eats salad for lunch. You are both way obsessing over her figure- lots of sport and 3 healthy meals a day- she's a growing child.

Her weight sounds fine.
You mention that her tummy sticks out. It is possible to do sit ups incorrectly, resulting in stomach muscles that stick out, not lie flat

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1331369/Sit-ups-myth-They-wont-6-pack-leave-POT-BELLY.html

Sorry it's a daily mail link. If you google it there may be some better articles.

Yes. Anything from the 0.2 to the 99.8 centile is within the realms of normal.

The exercise sounds nuts - at that age then, yes, of course, keeping active for fun or sport or competition is perfectly normal but doing 100 sit ups per day and running to school sounds excessive. Englishteacher is right - she can't change her body shape while her body is still growing and developing. The best thing you could do is to keep reassuring her that she is beautiful and perfect and lovely just the way she is, which I'm sure she IS.

Does she think she's fat or do you?

I'd assumed running to school was due to 12 year old timekeeping, not intended for exercise! It does sound like you're getting a bit stressed about all of this - as other posters say, normal is a very wide band and they are still growing and developing.

Defineme
What do you mean "ignorant stranger" and I could do the op's dd "a lot of harm"??

How fuckingdareyou?

100 sit ups at 12 years old sounds a bit worrying as does not eating breakfast and only having salad for lunch. All a bit unbalanced.

She's 5'8!!! Of course she's not overweight!

Yes but she's only 12, surely they should be pretty bean pole like at that age? Ok she may grow another couple of inches I suppose and not put on any more and then things will balance out.

Guess it just needs keeping an eye on.

When I was 12 I weighed 9 and half stone and was 5 foot seven. I was solid vs skinny, but definitely not fat! Keep an eye on the carbs and encourage walking a lot - that is all she needs.

If she grows another couple of inches she'll be 5'10- and 9.5 stone would be incredibly skinny for that height!

A lot of 12 year olds have boobs and hips too.

I think this much focus on diet and exercise at 12 is very worrying,which is why I asked who thought she was fat- her or her mum.....