Toddler BMI

[RoughPatchMum]

DS is 2.2. I don’t weigh or measure him often but have done it every few months and since he was 3 months old or so he has tracked 75th centile for weight. His height is around 50th which has also been consistent since he was small.

I plugged his height and weight into the NHS BMI calculator this morning and it said he is 91st centile and overweight he has never been skinny and comparing him to other kids at nursery he is a bigger build but I didn’t think he was overweight. He’s always been a good eater and maybe I need to cut down on his portions, he’s at nursery 4 days a week though so I don’t have a lot of control over what he eats there - I assume the portion sizes are appropriate. What he eats is healthy enough - loves fruit and vegetables etc.

I’m just annoyed really that the whole time he was under 2, every time I took him to a weigh in clinic the HVs said he was absolutely fine as he was tracking 75th - suddenly the moment he turns 2, he’s overweight.

Oops posted too soon. I meant to say on the end, has anyone else had experience of a toddler coming out overweight and did they slim out in time?

My DS has been 99 percentile since birth for height and weight. I got a letter from the health visitor when they came in to measure him at school saying he was nearly obese so took him to the doctors...who basically laughed me out the room.

They asked about his dad's build (6"3 and rugby player type build) and said that if I was still worried when he was a teen to go see them again. He is 7 now and has stretched out a lot. He'll never be 'skinny' because he hasn't got that sort of build. I haven't done his height/weight in ages but I'd be surprised if he was still 99 for weight as he's slimmed out so much and he is tall.

Please don't worry. If you are concerned discuss it with your gp but if he's still on the same growth curve as when he was born they told me they weren't concerned.

I recently did my DS(3) BMI and it came out as overweight .... he is 2st 6lb and 3ft 1in deffo not overweight - he fits into 12-18 month clothes, his actual age drowns him ..... I'm not worrying about it - i know he eats well and runs non stop

Thanks Cake. My instinct is that he is fine and that he just still has his baby/toddler chub. I’m going to keep an eye on his weight and portion sizes but try not to worry about it.

Thanks swizzels. I’m not convinced BMI is really suitable for toddlers. DS is in mostly 18-24 trousers and has just gone into 2-3 tops but they’re huge on him. MIL bought him some 2-3 shorts for the summer and they fall down. So his clothing is perfectly age appropriate.

Whats his height like? Dd skyrocketed into 91st percentile when weaning started. I panicked. Then when id calmed down I measured her height and she was 91st percentile for that too.

You're right in thinking BMI doesn't apply for toddlers.

I had a letter Home from School saying DS aged 5 is overweight. I laughed and threw it away.

Smurfy he is 50th centile for height. The BMI centile takes into account height and weight as I understand it. So someone who was 90th centile for both height and weight wouldn’t come out 90th centile for BMI? DS has always had 75th centile weight and 50th height though I think he’ll be tall eventually as DH is 6’4”.

It’s just hard not wanting to worry unnecessarily and also not wanting to be that parent who is in denial about the fact that their dc is overweight!

BMI was never designed to be used on children

It's a crude measure at best, for adults

Yeah my DS (2.3) shows as 'above 99% and very overweight'. He's not. He's sturdy and muscular but not fat. He was large when he was born (11lbs) and had stayed large for his age, now in age 3-4 clothes but he's not very overweight! I'm quite happy to rely on my eyes rather than an online calculator.