3.5 yo...how chubby is too chubby HELP

[mamamia10]

Mamas
it has been a while since I have posted (added a baby in sept and it has been a zoo). I have a wonderful and smart and perfect 3.5yo girl. I am worried about her weight, largely because my husband is obese (although down 40# so far) and I worry about her having a problem...she has been chubby since I can remember ...20# at 5mo, etc always healthy robust etc. now she is 41" and 40# and by BMI Hi normal...her diet is great lots of fruits, veg, a little dairy, water; no wheat but some other grains. we are a very active family, NO fast food, rarely (if ever) processed food, occasional chocolate or sweet treat..etc I think/know I am being paranoid or overly cautious, and I know kids can take up to 5 to thin out...but I just want to know and am looking to you all to tell me your chubby babe DID infact thin out

just alleviate my paranoia please
thanks

[bandgeek]

I plugged it into a growth chart calculator and she's dead on height for weight. 93rd and 92nd percentile. She's tall, but just right for her height. It's okay to be kind of paranoid about it. Obesity is such a HUGE issue right now that there's nothing wrong with keeping tabs on the situation.

My 5 1/2 year old is 44.75" and 41 lbs and he's pretty skinny but we have a heck of a time getting him to eat. He thinned out at 2, but that was because he wouldn't eat and my milk supply dropped from my second pregnancy.

[mamandedeux]

My DS1 is almost 4 and is 40'' and 41 lbs. I don't find him chubby at all, in fact I sometimes think he's a little thin. We're all very slim (I'm 5'7 and around 120 lbs). I don't know what her weight should be based on charts (never had any use for them), but that sounds reasonable to me.

[Minxie]

In April:

A 4 year old (male) child who is 46 pounds and is 3 feet and 7 inches tall has a body mass index of 17.5, which is at the 92th percentile, and would indicate that your child is at risk of becoming overweight.

Your child's ideal body weight would be at a BMI at the 85th percentile or below, and so would be about 44 pounds.

That doesn't necessarily mean that your child has to lose 2 pounds. As he gets older and taller, he may thin out some and therefore just need to stop gaining weight, gain weight more slowly or lose some of that weight. Talk to your Pediatrician for more help interpreting these results.


These are his current measurements:

A 4 year and 5 months old (male) child who is 48 pounds and is 3 feet and 9 inches tall has a body mass index of 16.7, which is at the 82th percentile, and would indicate that your child is at a healthy weight.


A big portion of the BMI calculator seems to be age. You can see that my DS didn't change proportions much; he grew two inches and gained two pounds but the addition of five months seemed to affect the BMI as he is now considered healthy instead of overweight. This is one more reason why I don't necessarily believe the BMI calculators.

P.S. The above measurements were only noted because I have another friend who is concerned about her child's BMI and I was showing her how inane it is.

[mamamia10]

Originally Posted by Minxie

In April:

A 4 year old (male) child who is 46 pounds and is 3 feet and 7 inches tall has a body mass index of 17.5, which is at the 92th percentile, and would indicate that your child is at risk of becoming overweight.

Your child's ideal body weight would be at a BMI at the 85th percentile or below, and so would be about 44 pounds.

That doesn't necessarily mean that your child has to lose 2 pounds. As he gets older and taller, he may thin out some and therefore just need to stop gaining weight, gain weight more slowly or lose some of that weight. Talk to your Pediatrician for more help interpreting these results.


These are his current measurements:

A 4 year and 5 months old (male) child who is 48 pounds and is 3 feet and 9 inches tall has a body mass index of 16.7, which is at the 82th percentile, and would indicate that your child is at a healthy weight.


A big portion of the BMI calculator seems to be age. You can see that my DS didn't change proportions much; he grew two inches and gained two pounds but the addition of five months seemed to affect the BMI as he is now considered healthy instead of overweight. This is one more reason why I don't necessarily believe the BMI calculators.

P.S. The above measurements were only noted because I have another friend who is concerned about her child's BMI and I was showing her how inane it is.

thanks mama...exactly what I needed

[pigpokey]

Like other posters I looked at that weight / height and said "well that is the weight my thin fit kids were at that height." If you think she is not fit enough, ??? Try to figure out how for her to walk a few more miles a week or put her in gymnastics 2-3 hours a week. Their abdomens do stick out at that age but that has nothing to do with fat unless you are seeing surface chub on top of the muscle layer.

[JudiAU]

Sounds fine to me. Ds had pretty similar stats but the weight is right for the height. But always good to keep tabs. I do too because ds has always been a big eater.

[RiverSky]

My son was in the 98-99th percentile up until he was 5, both for height and weight. I definitely think he was a nice chubby boy but I always said all of that fat he was storing was for his brain. Young ones are growing at an unbelievable rate and they need those fats for their brain growth.

Meanwhile, around 5, he started to thin, went to the 75th percentile. Now, at 11, he is in the 15th percentile, tall and thin and he has been very thin for years, even though he eats with relish, follows his appetite (sometimes he eats more, sometimes less) and he eats a wide variety and rainbow of foods. He has no eating issues, has no consciousness of whether one should be fat or thin or anything in between (we homeschool, so almost no societal pressures to be thin or anything like that) and he's a healthy, healthy boy.

I'm sure your 3 1/2 year old (still a baby, btw!) is exactly the weight she should be!!

Mamamia, I gently ask, do you have weight/food issues? Have you ever had an eating disorder?

[AllisonR]

Unfair as life is, I think a lot of it is genes and metabolism.

I am a bit chunky, but that's because of choice - I eat too much right now and have a bit too much chocolate and ice cream. But I have recently lost 8 kilos, and can relatively easy lose more weight by just eating a bit better and getting more exercise. I've been known to be only 50 kilos, which is actually too skinny.

I have a good friend who is big - she is just curves everywhere. She eats better than 98% of the population - lots of vegetables, fruits, no processed crap and very little junk food. And when she tries to lose weight she almost has to starve in order to lose a kilo. Her 4 yo DD is big and chunky and round too. And I know she eats the same healthy food her mom prepares. And she goes to an outside daycare, which means tons of exercise every day. But she has her mommas genes, no matter how unfair that is.

[ikesmom]

I think she will be fine. I would focus on making sure she stays active. I think that eating habits come and go , but becoming physically active is harder after a period of inactivity.

My ds will be 5 soon and is learning to ride a bike, learning to swim, learning to hike a little longer without asking us to carry him..ect. He used to be a chunk , but he is growing out of it.