Okay, see that circled red dot? The one that's on the 5th percentile line for length? That's his WEIGHT. (40 lbs. -- that's how much Katie weighed LAST YEAR.) So the pediatrician was asking about his eating habits and activity level, and making recommendations to help him slim down. She hinted that he was borderline overweight and we should probably be concerned about that.
Now, I know Danny's big. And heavy. And tall. But FAT?
It's not like he's a Michelin baby or anything. I mean, he doesn't have rolls. He is just SOLID. Future linebacker material.
So I calculated his body mass index: let's see, weight divided by height squared times 703 (how did they come up with this anyway??) equals... 18.02. I had to find a chart for children, since according to the adult charts he's actually UNDERweight (ha!). So here is his BMI compared with other boys his age.
Ta-da! Surprise! He's totally within normal range. Still on the big side, but less than 90th percentile. Whew! Parenting panic averted. I'm still going to give him low-fat milk (he loves his milk) and try to get him outside to run more often (because it's totally not winter and freezing outside), but at least now I don't have to feel like I'm a bad mother for stuffing my child. Maybe I'll bring this BMI chart in with me to his next appointment.
Lesson learned: be your own child's health advocate and refuse to be freaked out when your instincts tell you otherwise.
Jonathan and Rebecca (exactly 2y apart) were within a pound of each other from the time J (10lbs 5oz at birth) was 6 months old until they were 6 and 8yo respectively. He was in size 5T when he was 2. He didn't hit 40lbs till he was 2y 10m, though. ;-) - may I recommend the Radian as a car seat for bruisers such as ours?
ReplyDeleteHe gained less than a pound between 6 and 8 years old while growing nearly a foot. He's still a (gentle) giant, but he has at least grown into his size.
Just keep giving your boy good food and plenty of both active and intellectual playtime. And ignore the silly doctors.
I know Mrs. P had her doubts, but as soon as she told me the chart my first though was, "Well, yeah he's heavy, but what is his expected weight relative to his height?" I thought it was ridiculous that there was no consideration of the good boys height. Sheesh, the kid fits nicely into his nearly 5-year-old brother's clothes. I would expect some consideration put towards his height. I thought it was bad for the doctor to potentially induce irrational fear in a parent. I'm just glad my wife is so sensible.
ReplyDeleteI put the situation to one of my statistician coworkers, and his immediate reaction was the same as mine. To put the problem in the lingo of my occupation: "but what's the conditional expectation?"
Although there is a genuine problem of obesity in children, there's also a tendency in some circles to be over-concerned with growing children's weight and body sizes. Just make sure he's eating healthy and running around and don't worry too much about percentiles. Greg is right on, and you BMI chart is much more relevant than weight alone.
ReplyDeleteBased on the amount of physical activity I saw over Christmas, I'd say you don't have anything to worry about. That kid is a dynamo.
Making judgments about any person's weight without taking into consideration his height is ludicrous. Ignore your pediatrician's comments on this subject. Danny is a perfectly normal and healthy little boy. He's not even chunky, much less overweight.
ReplyDeleteOften, boys will chunk up before a growth spurt. I remember the Harold boys went through phases of chunky followed by big growth spurts. The most dramatic phase comes just before puberty. A lot of the boys in my 8th grade class were tubby, but the next year in 9th grade they were tall and lean. If they don't gain enough weight in preparation, how are they supposed to fuel their growth?
Don't worry about Danny's weight. He's too active ever to have a serious weight problem. And as for exercise, you have two flights of stairs! A few trips up and down those during the day are plenty of exercise!
I would switch him back to whole milk, too. Growing brains need the fat. He doesn't need to go on a diet. Let him eat when he's hungry. If he's eating a wholesome, balanced diet, he'll be OK.