My daughter is only 8 and weights 55kg. She is super tall for her age, 150cm. She looks in proportion apart from she has a big belly. I know having belly fat is not healthy, but I also know it's a delicate subject for young children.
We eat relatively healthy, lots of fruit and veges with the occasional treat, I think she eats too much as she is always hungry.
She also hates all kinds of exercise. I try so many things to get her active but she is not keen to do much.
I am also overweight and trying to lose weight (I don't tell her this tho) I just say we should go for a bike ride as we both need to get fit for the sports we want to play.
How can I help her to get more active, and increase her energy and reduce her portions?
Edit-
I know her bmi sounds fine, but when you put it into a calculator with her age it gives you the below which is what scares me-
"Your child's height and weight place them in the 99.7th percentile for their age. Their BMI is 24.4.
Your child's weight is much higher than is recommended for their height and age. This may put them at higher risk of future health conditions like heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes."
18 Replies
She is within the healthy weight range for her height. She is very tall for 8, she is almost taller than me haha. Does she like swimming?
Haha yes, im only 163 so she will catch me in no time.
In relation to her age, it is not though. This is what the health website says
"Your child's height and weight place them in the 99.7th percentile for their age. Their BMI is 24.4.
Your child's weight is much higher than is recommended for their height and age. This may put them at higher risk of future health conditions like heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes."
Yes, she likes swimming. We do lessons and go to the pool for fun but she doesnt enjoy swimming laps or anything!
She isn’t overweight. I just ran her numbers through a bmi calculator. She’s on the upper end of normal/healthy weight for her height.
Yes encourage her to keep relatively active.
Belly fat at this age can be very normal she’s got a lot of body changes to go through, and carrying a bit of belly fat can be all part of prep for puberty.
Are you actually overweight?
Yes I am definitely overweight, 163cm and 85 kgs... been trying to change that however it doesn't want to move!
The health website says this when I put her age in which is what worries me
"Your child's height and weight place them in the 99.7th percentile for their age. Their BMI is 24.4.
Your child's weight is much higher than is recommended for their height and age. This may put them at higher risk of future health conditions like heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes."
I find kids that are always hungry seems to go hand in hand with kids that don’t like to be active. It’s like a cycle, boredom, time to fill nothing to do, avoidance, bad habits.
I can’t imagine a 150cm 8 year old. I assume she’s bigger all over, and that she’s quite aware of being ‘big’ and being called big, and that’s an idea you’re going to have to work to change within her. No mention of tummy size or exercise or we must get outside. Just go to the beach/tramp park/ skate park etc. you do the ‘must’ part, just deliver her the fun.
Worm her and then start setting out activities or a schedule between meal or snack times.
Active kids are always hungry so are pre teens.
Not in my opinion. Active kids eat well after a big play. Teens eat non stop and kids in a growth spurt. The ones that are constantly hungry though are different, as I said above.
Obviously she is doing a lot of growing. Pre teens eat a lot and put on weight to prepare for the massive growth spurts to come. Active kids generally have very good appetites.
We always use the word tall not big and she has no problem with her size at the moment which is how I would like to keep it.
I will try the worming tablets and see how they go!
Lead by example for starters. Encourage activity and ensure you're providing healthy, nutritious foods and just quietly monitor things - for now that is all i would do. Keep in mind as well, that lot of kids develop a bit of puppy fat right before they hit puberty. A bit of chubbiness and belly fat in a child doesn't automatically equal unhealthy.
Also, consider that this might just be her body type. From the time I was your daughters age I have had a belly and a muffin top, nothing I did then or now will make that budge. The only time in my life that I didn't have that stubborn midriff fat was when I was 16. Know why? Because I was living off coffee, cigarettes and I was literally starving myself.
I'm no expert but I feel like the spare tire around my middle was probably less of a health hazard
You worry too much. If she was 70 kgs then you’d worry. She is 8 and 55 kgs isn’t huge. So what if she has a belly she is a kid. Let it go. Get some blood tests done. Her iron may be low, hence to lack of energy.
As long as her height and weight are tracking along a similar percentile then there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve had kids at both ends of the charts. My eldest was always closer to the top of the chart for both height and weight. He would always get quite chubby around the middle just before a growth spurt. He’s now 175cm and 65kg at nearly 18. My youngest has always been near the bottom of the charts, and was off the bottom of the chart for his weight at one point. He started seeing a dietitian as a baby due to medical issues. I was always told that as long as he was tracking along a similar percentile for both height and weight. We had to work hard to get his weight up, but we did it and for years he tracked along the 10th percentile for both. He’s now 158cm and 45kg at nearly 16. He would be taller but scoliosis is affecting his height. And due to other issues he still struggles with his weight (you wouldn’t think weight would be an issue with the way he eats).
I thought BMI was proven to be an inaccurate indicator of health a few years ago? If her doctor or child health nurse aren’t concerned, then try not to worry about it.
The nurse did say she was obese due to her bmi, and suggested ways to help which is what I have been already doing. They said they would follow up in 6mths but never heard anything, that was 2 years ago.
Doctor has never mentioned anything in check ups. She has always been in the top height and weight so maybe that is ok then, thanks!
I hope that nurse did not say this in front of her! This makes me so cranky. BMI is not reliable. Seek out a Dietician/nutritionist that speaks about intuitive eating and not stupid BMI. Some great ones refuse to even weigh people now so they can get away from the BMI hocus pocus.
Please take into consideration that she may have started puberty early which will mean her bmi for her age may be wrong.
Awesome she’s 8 and you are about to hand her a lifetime of dieting.
Congratulations to you.
She is 8 BMI is NOT a proper indication of health whatsoever it was created by a mathematician not a physician 🤦🏻♀️
If you want her to move more buy a trampoline or go to the park, beach or botanical gardens for a walk, encourage play instead of screen time but do not introduce weight loss and start her on a lifetime of thinking her worth is connected to the number on the scales and introduce her to disordered eating.
Please never go off BMI. I was so thin I looked gaunt and people were begging me including my mother not to lose anymore. I told them I still had 10kg to go according to my BMI! I developed an eating disorder and was very ill. The BMI is not trustworthy at all. I was actually at my healthiest 20kg above it and felt great.
My daughters put on weight around this age and up until early teen. Then they dropped it all, pretty sure it was changes in their bodies and normal. Please be careful you are not hyperfocused on this. You seem to be eating healthy and creating a healthy lifestyle and doing all the right things. My kids all became lazier teens and I was worried but they need extra sleep due to all that growing.
I would worry more if it is an issue once she stops growing ;)
Listen to Maintenance Phase. It’s a podcast done by two intelligent, knowledgeable, hilarious people about weight, dieting etc. it’s actually incredible how much misinformation and bias there is around weight and health. And how much damage we do focusing on weight, and assuming it corresponds to bad health, assuming it is within our control, assuming that it’s a failing on our part to be overweight, especially when we project that onto children. I can’t recommend it enough, it’s changed my whole world view!