Underweight 10.5 year old

[GloriousSlug]

My DS is 147cm tall and weighs 28kg, he has always been slim (full term at birth and weighed 6lb 7). His appetite has always been poor and he often has to be reminded to eat.

I took him to the doctor a couple of years ago but he did not seem concerned because DS is fairly energetic. I'm concerned though because his face looks quite gaunt now, dark circles under his eyes, his arms look like twigs. He eats a healthy diet with very little junk food but just has little interest in eating.

I'm thinking it must be worth going back to the GP again? I worked his BMI out on a kids BMI calculator and it came up with a BMI of 13.2

I am fairly slim (5 ft 5 and weigh approx 8 stone 9) and his dad is also a slight build (5ft 10 and slim), I'm paranoid about making him aware of my worries about his weight, has anyone else had similar issues? How did you deal with it?

How much should a 10.5 year old boy weigh?

I should also mention he is (not surprisingly!) quite a fussy eater and will not touch a lot of high calorie foods (peanut butter and avocados are out of the question!) He does like eggs and bananas though.

It might well be useful to talk with the GP again - but try to frame it with your son in terms of general health. After all, he needs to be encouraged to eat enough in order to grow, gain muscle, be able to run faster / stronger etc.

You may find it useful to look at a children's BMI chart with BMI for age, eg

www.rcpch.ac.uk/system/files/protected/page/GIRLS%20and%20BOYS%20BMI%20CHART.pdf

Looking at that, his BMI currently falls on the 0.4 centile, so indeed pretty low but not quite scary off-the-chart low - children have lower BMIs then put weight on through their teens.

To give you a comparison, my son is 10, just had him checked at the GP (excessive tiredness bothering me a bit) this week, he is 149 cm and 38 kg ... and the GP commented "long and lean". Actually his BMI falls pretty much on the 50th centile on that chart.

I'm guessing here, it may be that the GP thinks it's worth checking some things, it may be that they are happy to say, let's just monitor what happens for a while longer, or perhaps a dietitian could be helpful in supporting you and your son to explore nutritious food choices that will work better for him. Good luck getting the reassurance you need.

I'd make sure he has a general health check at the GP and then try not to worry about it. A multi vitamin might help if he is a fussy eater. Will he eat Nutella or homemade smoothies (sticking some coconut milk in.)

My DS is a year older than yours, around 150cm & around 31kg. He is very slim but he eats & is also very active so I'm not concerned. My dH & I are also slim built (if you don't count middle-aged spread!) and DD is also slim so it's a family 'thing', even though he is the most skinny in terms of his age, etc. If he didn't eat I would be more worried & possibly taking him for a check-up. Am hoping puberty will fill him out a bit, as is he!

NHS calculator shows that as 13.2, yes. Since you're unsure, have you checked your measurements - 147cm is nearly 5ft tall? If your measurements are right, I would take him to your GP, yes.

My friends daughter was like this & after running various blood tests, it was discovered that she is celiac. Now on a gluten free diet & filling out well.
Might be worth checking ?