Children's BMI Index?

[GruppieGirl]

I was poking around online and found a children's BMI Chart. I plugged in my 5 yo dd's stats. She came out "overweight!"

I have been up all night worrying about her.

She is 5 yo. Most of her life she had been in the 100th percentile for height and weight. At her 5 year appt. (8 months ago) both her height and weight were in the 75th percentile. Both height and weight have always been on the same curve.

My 5 yo is very active. Soccer, dance, bike riding, hiking, playgrounds, backyard, etc.

We eat regular meals together. Most of her snacks consist of fruit, cheese, yogurt, etc.

To me she looks just like all of the other little girls. Not overweight or chubby. But I am her mom and maybe I'm not seeing her the way someone else would see her.

My dh was overweight as a child. It doesn't sound like he was very active and I know he ate tons of junk.


What do I do? What do you think?

[roomformore]

I would not be concerned. BMI is an inaccurate measure of body composition. It does not take many things into account such as muscle mass which weighs much more than fat mass. Standards for measuring children (percentiles for height and weight) are being changed as I write this. The World Health Organization is creating new charts and has already come out with some adjusted standards. If you are truly concerned then you could take your child in and have more appropriate measurements taken by a physician or sometimes a dietician. I really believe that you will do more harm than good to your child if you get them concerned about their weight at this age. (Unless their weight is so extreme that it is causing health concerns) Studies are already being done about body image in children your child's age (and younger) and eating disorders! It looks like she is active and eats well. That's what's important. If she is 'pre-disposed', well, it looks to me like you're setting her up for healthy habits later in life and that's what's really important!

[GruppieGirl]

roomformore~ Thank you for starting to put my mind at ease.

I agree with you about the connection of talk of weight and body image. Weight is never dissused in front of the children. I only put her on the scale last night for the first time since her 5yo appt.

I think that I may just toss the scale. It's stessing me out! :

[Twocoolboys]

Originally Posted by roomformore

I would not be concerned. BMI is an inaccurate measure of body composition. It does not take many things into account such as muscle mass which weighs much more than fat mass. Standards for measuring children (percentiles for height and weight) are being changed as I write this. The World Health Organization is creating new charts and has already come out with some adjusted standards. If you are truly concerned then you could take your child in and have more appropriate measurements taken by a physician or sometimes a dietician. I really believe that you will do more harm than good to your child if you get them concerned about their weight at this age. (Unless their weight is so extreme that it is causing health concerns) Studies are already being done about body image in children your child's age (and younger) and eating disorders! It looks like she is active and eats well. That's what's important. If she is 'pre-disposed', well, it looks to me like you're setting her up for healthy habits later in life and that's what's really important!

While I agree with all of the above, I think it is also important to not have your head in the sand about weight issues in children. It does look like she is active and eats well, but only YOU know if she is chubby or not. You don't have to answer that here.

You listed in her snacks yogurt and cheese. These two things can be very fattening. Depending on what type of yogurt you are feeding her, that could be a source of a lot of fat and sugar. And, if she is eating a lot of things like this, then that could be a source of a problem. While I definitely know that you cannot put a child on a diet and would never suggest that, I would suggest replacing snacks of this type with more fruit and veges and other low-cal, yet yummy things, like pretzels, etc. Of course, if she enjoys yogurt and cheese, then still offer it, but less often.

I come from a family with obesity problems and I have managed to keep from having one myself and to keep my kids from having one. I see a lot of little kids that have weight problems that parents ignore or are in denial about. I have a friend with a 7 year old boy who cannot even button his pants and he is definitely chubby, probably even a little beyond that. And, she doesn't see it as a problem and says that he has a "little" belly and laughs about it. I know he doesn't have the best diet.

Anyway, sorry to go off on a tangent there - lol. I'm not saying that this is your situation, but if you think your dd could benefit from less cheese and yogurt and more fruit and veges, then I would make the switch if I was you.

[maya44]

I think sometimes it is hard for parents to really know if a child is heavier than they should be. A simple solution is to see a physician who will give you an adequate measure.

Kids in the 100th percentile for height often come up "overweight" on a BMI index so I wouldn't worry.


But I have to say my SIL recently referred to her child as "skinny" and well she is defintitely NOT skinny.

It made me realize that parents sometimes have a skewed view.

[4evermom]

Well, I just checked out a BMI calculator in response to reading this. It said my 42" and 43 lb ds has a BMI of 17.2 and is at risk for being overweight. Since my ds looks to be a healthy weight to me, I am not going to worry. I think the thing about muscle vs fat is at play here. Muscle weighs more than fat, as well. My ds has always had good muscle tone. Now, I wouldn't call him skinny either. He definitly has a little layer of chub, but nothing I can pinch on the belly when he is standing. But according to the chart, he would have to lose over 4 lbs to be at 50%, which I really don't think he has to spare.

[kewb]

My pediatrician told me at my dd 4 year check up that I should start watching what she eats. I asked if she was overweight and he said no, but she is at the top of the chart (she is also at the top for height). I was pretty miffed, since I know what I feed her and how active she is. Plus her older brother was always a chart topper and he never made any comments to me about his weight. Due to mine and dh's families and our own battle with the bulge I have always been very aware of my children's diet.

It is now 2 years later and I have decided that my dd is healthy. She is active, eats well and is happy. She is still top of the chart and will have to watch what she eats all of her life but I am teaching her and trying to model good eating habits.

[nextcommercial]

There are much better ways to determine BMI.

My trainer is BIG. He is very muscular, but only about 5 foot 11. He showed me how on a BMI chart, he is considered obese. He is not obese.

I am obese. LOL

My daughter has always been 75% for height, and 35% for weight. So, she is not the most proportioned child. She is built like Woody from Toy story. I will admit, she looks a little too skinny. (she's 13 now)

I would say to watch her closely. I noticed that around third grade, many kids seemed to get chubby. Around seventh grade some of those chubby kids got taller and leaner. But, some went from Chubby to downright fat. Seventh graders are NOT kind to the kids who are overweight. The girls especially seem to suffer for it.

My daughter's friend is a teeeeensy bit heavy. But, I truly think she is adorable. She is not what I would consider as having a weight problem. She's just not thin either. BUT, she is So bothered by her weight (we can blame her dippy mother for making her feel like this) that this girl is miserable. I feel so bad for her, because she is very cute, but is sure she isn't worthy, because she is "so fat".

I wish society were different, but kids are cruel. The boys have said some unbelievable things to the girls they consider fat. I always thought it was the girls who were mean, but the boys are worse. We always hope our daughters will be strong enough, that these comments wont bother them. But, it still does. Even if they seem to let it roll off their backs.

[hottmama]

A BMI chart said my son was overweight when he was turning 3- in the 4 mos. since then, he's grown 3" and stayed at the same weight, and is starting to look downright skinny! Kids tend to get chunkier and then taller, it's noraml and fine IMO. As long as she is eating healthy and exercising, I wouldn't worry. However, I don't consider cheese a healthy snack. We rarely eat dairy in my family, it is fatty, high in cholesterol, and if nonorganic, full of nasty stuff. My son LOVES soy yogurt, though.