3.5 yo DD on 2nd percentile for height and BMI says she's obese!

[Talkiewalky]

I'm so worried about my little girl - she's 3.5 years old and only 89cm which puts her below 2nd centile for height (she's been tracking that line since about 18 months), but her weight is and always has been on the 50th.

She looks a bit chunky but in a 'puppy fat' way rather than overweight - chubby cheeks and a pot belly. She's so active - 3 sports classes a week, we walk absolutely everywhere, park and soft play almost every day - she's constantly on the go, and she's full of energy, fast and strong, so I'm not worried about that side of things.

She was always a chubby baby, BF to 18 months and she had full on rolls - so it's not as if her weight has rocketed up, more that her height has just slowed - we've been waiting for a growth spurt, but no sign yet! And checking her BMI now has really freaked me out as she was on something like the 97th percentile!

I took her to the GP at about 2.5 and she basically laughed me out the room - said as long as her tummy is soft not tender she's fine, and all kids grow at different rates. But I can't shake the feeling there is an underlying issue causing her not to grow and also retain the babyish body shape and fat.

Does anyone have any experience similar or advice on how to get GP to take it seriously? Thank you!!

I wouldn’t worry. My little brother and I were the shortest all through pre school, primary etc, then we both had a major grow during high school and ended up average heights.

My DD’s dad was also short and very round, then in mid teens had a growth spurt and when we met, he was so tall and rail thin it was hard to believe when his mother showed me his baby pics!

If the dr isn’t worried, I’d just let her be. My DD (8) is also very short, 2nd-7th centile since she was born but given her family history I anticipate a big grow on the horizon, she’s already got quite suddenly leggy in the last couple of months and with it has lost her pot belly. She now fits age 9 trousers and age 5 tops! They have plenty of time to give you new things to worry about, while their height sorts itself out ;)

BMI is no good for a 3 year old. Does she like her food? What clothes size does she wear OP?

Honestly at 3 I would just monitor portion sizes. If you walk everywhere I'm not sure MN is the best place for advice when we don't even know what your child looks like.

Puppy fat defo is a thing... loads of kids even out. At 3 though I think she will be fine.

You mention 3 exercises classes a week but at that age they should be doing 3 hours of activity a day. Walking/scooting to nursery and the school runs uses up about 1 hour and 45 mins a day so I know we need to a plan to do something active for the rest of the time.

She's in normal clothes for her age usually 3-4, though can get away with 2-3 in leggings as her legs are short! To look at her, it's only her round tummy and her face/neck that look a little chubby.

I think perhaps a couple of days a week she doesn't get that, but others we'll be outside or doing something for 6 hours plus between soft play and dog walks so I'd be surprised if it didn't average out. We're a very outdoorsy and active family, generally eat healthily (although I'm really now going to try reduce her fruit snacks and up her protein) and both myself and my husband are pretty fit and slim, which is why it's a red flag to me that she's not the same!

This thread has been great though as it had simultaneously reassured me that it's worth pushing the GP to take another look at her but also that it's probably all fine and normal!

BMI isn’t advised for young children.
My own children tended to grow out before they then sprouted up.
I would not worry at this stage. Just keep up the exercise and healthy diet.

Children's BMI is used by the NHS from the age of two. It's just a measure of weight for height then seeing if that is appropriate for the child's age. Weight for height is also used by the WHO. It is necessary to monitor children's growth, if it deviates too far from the mean than this can indicate a nutritional or health issue.

Why are people so anti BMI? Its relevant to the vast vast majority of the population, the few that are outliers are those with extreme physiques due to sport or physical conditions who will know that its not relevant to them but for the rest of us its a useful tool

@Talkiewalky did you do it with a kids bmi calculator op? How heavy is she? As much as I agree BMI for kids is... rarely helpful.... she of course could be massively overweight

We had this with DD. She was between 2-9th for height and just above 50th centile for weight ever since they put her on a feeding plan for a couple of weeks due to a severe TT. She was EBF after it was cut. HV was constantly chasing me to get her weighed despite me working from when she was 9 months old. When she didn't appear to grow for around a year between 2 and 3 and the HV suggested I went to the GP as her BMI was 99th centile. GP laughed me out the room and lectured me on my own insecurities 🙄. Did absolutely nothing really about her weight as nursery were providing most her meals (big chain with nutritionally balanced national menu) and put it out my mind. She started growing upwards again and then didn't gain any weight for a couple of years. Now at 7 she's not the skinniest but is around 70% on the BMI scale so is no longer overweight. DS followed 2 years later and guess what? He didn't grow between 2-3 years and BMI was high because he carried on putting on weight. This time I'm just waiting it out he's back at 90% for BMI and it looks like his weight gain has currently stalled (despite eating plenty) so it'll drop even more and it's just the way my DC grow.

One of mine was a major chunky monkey and only slimmed out in puberty - but we didn't worry as his diet and activity were always good and his dad looked exactly the same at his age and it was obvious that he is made of the same stuff as his dad - a well built stocky guy which is a really good thing! OP same with your little one I think, she's likely just healthy and it's how her body is growing. These percentiles and stuff can drive you mad and people love to comment but every toddler is different, every child is different.