2.5 year old is classed as obese!

[Glowz]

So I've just given birth and done my BMI so I can track it. The NHS website also had one for children so I did it for my son. To look at, you wouldn't think he's overweight. He has a healthy balanced diet, lots of fruit, salad and veg with occasional treats. Doesn't have sweets or fizzy/cordial drinks. Just water and milk. I believe he is a healthy child and most importantly, he is happy.

He is 2 and a half, measures 96cm and weighs 17kg. A lot of people think he's older than he is due to his height. No one, not even the health visitor or midwife who came after my second birth made any comments on his weight or anything. He is due his two year check soon.

Im really paranoid, upset and worked up now that when the health visitor comes for his 2 year check, she will comment on his weight. I knew he was heavy but (and I mean this honestly I'm not being mum biased here) I would never ever have thought he was obese.

Has anyone else.had big toddlers who are way over what they should be for height and weight for their age?

Keep an eye on it, but at age 2 DS was measuring as obese. He breastfed like a champ, hit the 99th centile for weight at about 3 months and stayed there throughout his first 18 or so months, with height more like 50th-75th. He walked very late and never crawled.

Hes 3.5 now and it’s definitely evening out. His weight is down to somewhere in the 80s centile wise and his height is above the 75th. He was notably a big child at 2 but he doesn’t stand out now at 3, other than being a bit taller than average.

He loves food and we do have to be mindful of portion size. He could easily eat an adult size portion at breakfast and tea especially. We also have never routinely given snacks as calories add up quickly that way. He can tend towards laziness so we try and aim for a couple of hours or proper physical activity (running round at the park, soft play, walking round the local farm etc) every day.

It literally takes height into account.

A 3.5 hour marathon is not impressive for a man. He could run a much better time if he shifted some timber.

That has to be a joke

That was aimed at this

No. I’m guessing you don’t know many other recreational runners?

Anyway, adult BMI is a major derail to a thread about a toddler.

Mine is 102cm and 17kg. He's 2.9 months.

Fit as a fiddle, doesn't eat huge amounts, doesn't snack much between meals, 1 cup of milk a day. No juice/pop/squash just water to drink. We haven't used a pushchair much since he turned 2, I prefer him to walk even if my life is a bit trickier at times!

He's got the energy of about 5 labradors and as my mum would say, is bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Don't worry. If he's eating a balanced diet and running around lots, he's fine.

Before you panic, try taking the measurements again a couple of times. It's easy to make a mistake.

If he loves food, it may be a portion issue. I know a toddler like this, and it’s very much a “eats too much of everything” problem. It can be really hard for parents themselves to see.

I would completely ignore BMI for a 2 year old. Mine measured obese at 2, at a health check and I was worried about it at the time but in hindsight they were at very chubby baby and took longer to "thin out" than the charts thought was proper! They are a skinny 7 year old now. They thinned out around 5. I'd watch the milk, it's not empty calories but you shouldn't be drinking your calories at 2. But otherwise they are eating a healthy diet and getting fresh air and exercise everyday and not sitting alot in a buggy or in front the telly - they are fine. After our experience I don't think medical science understands enough about growth or obesity in children to identify growing toddlers at risk of obesity as an adult.

For those saying that BMI takes height into account, yes it does but for children it also depends on their age. As a 10 year old my DS is overweight but if I change his age to 11 and insert the exact same height and weight measurements, he now has a healthy weight. He’s off the scale for height as a ten year old but that’s genetics. My DH’s family are all very tall.

I'd love you to come back and tell us in a year how he's doing and I can tell you about mine. She's moved down from obese to overweight now so I know she's moving in the right direction.

I feel the same as you, I'm very quietly proud of her healthy diet so was horrified that she came up as obese. I was glad to know though really as if it was freezer food every night I'd have had a chance to tweak it and change things early in her life. But when you know your diet is good it's hard to know what to do.

Op can I just ask do you mean he gets chocolate buttons everyday? Or once a week?

I appreciate in your case his tallness may be down to genetics, but it has been shown generally that DCs who are overeating tend to be taller earlier (and not necessarily chubby). They don't grow into taller adults though, they just reach their full height sooner. In some cases it can actually stunt their adult height as their increased weight in childhood triggers puberty earlier, which in turn stops their growth early, resulting in missing the final teenage push of growth. That's presumably why adjusting the age whilst keeping height and weight the same changes the result. There was a really interesting episode of 'A thorough examination with Drs Chris and Xand' on Radio 4 about this.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017tcz (the whole series is worth a listen - it's fascinating)

I am completely aware of that but my DH is 6ft4, his sister is 6ft, his niece his 6ft2 and his nephew 6ft5. My DS is going to be tall and he will be tall early. DH was over 6ft by 12.

I think you are right to be vigilant. Not all kids do slim down enough; the stats on obese reception kids are pretty horrifying. 18kg is what my 6 year old weighs at 116cm tall. She's petite but not shockingly so.

I was also going to caution this - a lot of the time people will say ‘oh they’re very tall’ - and there absolutely can be genetic factors at play - but overfed dc do grow taller quicker too. However long term they don’t end up taller.

My ds was overweight at 2. We took steps to address it - mainly by completely cutting out snacks that weren’t fruit & veg. At 11 is around 40th centile. So it absolutely can be addressed but it’s good as parents to be mindful and not just assume it will all work out in the end. As a teacher, I see a lot more overweight children in my classes than I used to when I first started teaching.

@Sleepygrumpyandnothappy

My point was 8 minute mile running he's not exactly unfit. He's muscular because he's an athlete and because he is short his BMI is off. When you work out and actual body fat percentage properly for him it's a lot lower using BIA or calliper testing. He has got any actual timber to shift.

BMI is very rudimentary and doesn't take into account body shape

There is no need to be defensive - I acknowledged that your DC may well be the exception, but for a lot of families it simply isn't the case.

I’m not being defensive. I’m just giving you the facts. Some children are very tall because of genetics. That’s a failing in the BMI calculator.

Do age 2-3 clothes fit him, or fit him until recently? My reception daughter weighed similar to that age 4.5 and she is exactly average height (50th centile). The fact you have such height in your family does suggest he will be tall. I'd keep an eye on it but be realistic. So many children are overweight, and the vast majority of their parents think they are a healthy weight (can't be bothered to find a link but there are various studies that show this).

Honestly, I think a healthy weight is just much lower than we think it is. I'm 5 foot 6 and a size 8 in dresses and tops, 10 in jeans. My BMI is 23, so at the higher end of healthy. I'm frequently described as slim.

@partypompoms the chocolate buttons was an example. Treats will be different everyday but he will have a treat everyday. One day it could be a custard cream, next buttons, the day after that could be a milk ice lolly then it could be fruit ice lolly which I make myself (not to be a snob but I'm not a fan of sugary stuff myself and find all the ice lollies to sugary so make them myself with fruit bits in)

We had a safeguarding referral for neglect over dd weight at one point. She was 18kg at just under 2. For our family that’s normal. Up till 3/4 all kids in the family are short and chubby then have a massive growth spurt and are normal bmi again.
the hv said my food diary was basically a lie, had a go at me for still breastfeeding (dd has asd it was her comfort) I was told I’d need an inpatient stay. That dd needed tests and bloods and that it was classed as neglect to let her get that big. Nobody was interested in the family history until SS involved. They met with us and wider family , we explained and showed photos of everyone to prove what our family is like - they saw all of us as adults and my older dc and saw everyone was slim and closed the case and had a go at the hv as we had shown her all the same stuff Which she hadn’t said in the referral

I took my 51 week old boy to get weighed and he was on the 98th centile so the health visitor told me if he was on the same centile at next weigh-in then "we'd have to look at his diet". His diet consisted of normal food - same as his sister (25th centile) and the rest of the family.

So I simply never took him for another weigh-in again.

He's fourteen now, tall and slim, and I've no idea what he weighs!

My boy had his HV check one month ago when he was 2 years and five months. He was on the 96th centile for height (97cm) and weight (18kg) and all the HV remarked was, 'ooh he'll be tall' as she tracked his height and estimated he'd be a 6ft 2in adult. This doesn't surprise me at all as he was 90th centile at birth and eats like a small horse... We have height on both sides of the family with men commonly over 6ft so I am not concerned at all. He is 20cms taller than our NCT friend, born one week later than him, which proves you cannot compare. If you are satisfied he eats well and runs about and plays then I wouldn't worry yourself.

Define 'healthy'. Can you run repeated 8 minute miles?