Daughter too skinny? (doctor, eye, danger, medical)
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My daughter will be 13 in March. She is extremely active in gymnastics and cheerleading, about 3 days a week, plus she constantly practices at home. Both sides of our family are thin, so genetics is on her side. She also just got braces 2 months ago.
She's exactly 5 ft tall and weighs 75lbs. She lost about 3 lbs when she got the braces on. I just had her gymnastics coach talk to me about being concerned about her weight and I also just had one of her friends mom's tell me they noticed she lost weight as well. I looked up stats for height and weight online but can't get a good gauge on where she should be.
As I stated above, she is extremely active and has been growing fast lately. She sleeps 9 hours a night and gets almost all A's in school. She eats a good breakfast and dinner and usually has a snack before bed. The only thing I have noticed that is different is that she is eating more healthy and has cut out most crap, which is a good thing actually. More concerning though, is that her cheer coach recently switched her from being a flier (on top) to a back spot (catcher from the back for the flier) and that made her extremely upset and she made a comment that it's because she getting too big. I did clarify she meant tall and not fat. Nothing we can do about height, my husbands side is tall and we were told she'll eventually be about 5'7. What made it worse though is that the new flier is her younger sister! They are on the same competitive cheer team.
I need advice. According to online calculators, a healthy minimum weight for her should be 76, which is only one pound more. Does that sound right? She is extremely thin. I have started her on Ensure Plus shakes, once a day. I don't want to make a big deal out of it (as it could make things worse), but should I also seek advice from her pediatrician or should I see how the shakes go for now, monitor her weight and if nothing changes then take her to the doctor? I just don't want this this to become a serious problem!
Sure sounds like she burns everything she consumes and more and works to be so competitive...
I was always thin but dancing kept me thin enough...otherwise not the competition world.
My grandson is very active, hyper and has grown very tall and on vollyball team in college now and he doesn't love food, eats to survive. Then there are those who live to eat. Not good there.
Maybe eventually talk to peditrician but again she burns it with her competition.
Her BMI is 14.6 and anything under 18.5 is considered underweight. She'd need to be 95 pounds to be in the "normal" range - that is a huge difference. Being an athlete may be having an impact but I think she should get a checkup with her doc.
My daughter will be 13 in March. She is extremely active in gymnastics and cheerleading, about 3 days a week, plus she constantly practices at home. Both sides of our family are thin, so genetics is on her side. She also just got braces 2 months ago.
She's exactly 5 ft tall and weighs 75lbs. She lost about 3 lbs when she got the braces on. I just had her gymnastics coach talk to me about being concerned about her weight and I also just had one of her friends mom's tell me they noticed she lost weight as well. I looked up stats for height and weight online but can't get a good gauge on where she should be.
As I stated above, she is extremely active and has been growing fast lately. She sleeps 9 hours a night and gets almost all A's in school. She eats a good breakfast and dinner and usually has a snack before bed. The only thing I have noticed that is different is that she is eating more healthy and has cut out most crap, which is a good thing actually. More concerning though, is that her cheer coach recently switched her from being a flier (on top) to a back spot (catcher from the back for the flier) and that made her extremely upset and she made a comment that it's because she getting too big. I did clarify she meant tall and not fat. Nothing we can do about height, my husbands side is tall and we were told she'll eventually be about 5'7. What made it worse though is that the new flier is her younger sister! They are on the same competitive cheer team.
I need advice. According to online calculators, a healthy minimum weight for her should be 76, which is only one pound more. Does that sound right? She is extremely thin. I have started her on Ensure Plus shakes, once a day. I don't want to make a big deal out of it (as it could make things worse), but should I also seek advice from her pediatrician or should I see how the shakes go for now, monitor her weight and if nothing changes then take her to the doctor? I just don't want this this to become a serious problem!
It's good that she's eating healthier, but adding Ensure Plus is adding more crap. One 8 ounce bottle of Ensure Plus has 20 g sugar. That is just under 5 teaspoons.
She's 12 and only one pound under. You are overreacting.
I was going to suggest Ensure. It may contain sugar, but at that age, kids do eat sugar. Lots of kids are drinking soda and eating junk food so if that's the only sugary thing she's having, I don't see the problem with it. At least it contains some nutrients and at least she's drinking it.
I was always very thin and was taken to the doctor about it. They never did anything except tell me to drink milkshakes. That was really unhealthy and I didn't do it. But later on, there was a drink that was sort of like Ensure and I drank that and made sure to get enough calories by counting them and keeping track. I found that it took 2500 calories/day for me to start to gain.
I think I would hold off for a while before seeing a doctor. Seeing a doctor about her weight might cause anxiety and place too much attention on her weight, making her self conscious. Just see how it goes. If she's still underweight in a few months, then it might be doctor time.
She does sound like a bit of a perfectionist and there's always the possibility that she might think that being thin is good and become anorexic. So that's the reason I think maybe a doctor visit might be a smart move at some point.
Her BMI is 14.6 and anything under 18.5 is considered underweight. She'd need to be 95 pounds to be in the "normal" range - that is a huge difference. Being an athlete may be having an impact but I think she should get a checkup with her doc.
According to the CDC Child and Teen BMI calculator, her BMI is 13.7. That is extremely underweight.
Of course I can't say for sure, but I used to be a cheerleader. And I used to have an eating disorder. They are extremely common in both sports she participates in. I know you say she eats, but I can tell you that I was very, very good at hiding my ED.
I would get her in to see her pediatrician ASAP. She is not just skinny, she is dangerously underweight. Generally the only way to be that underweight is if you have a medical condition or an eating disorder.
Her BMI is 14.6 and anything under 18.5 is considered underweight. She'd need to be 95 pounds to be in the "normal" range - that is a huge difference. Being an athlete may be having an impact but I think she should get a checkup with her doc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarnivalGal
According to the CDC Child and Teen BMI calculator, her BMI is 13.7. That is extremely underweight.
Of course I can't say for sure, but I used to be a cheerleader. And I used to have an eating disorder. They are extremely common in both sports she participates in. I know you say she eats, but I can tell you that I was very, very good at hiding my ED.
I would get her in to see her pediatrician ASAP. She is not just skinny, she is dangerously underweight. Generally the only way to be that underweight is if you have a medical condition or an eating disorder.
Thanks - I didn't know there was a special calculator for kids so I'd think that calculation is even more accurate. It is so extreme that I think there is little chance she is not underweight to a considerable degree by anyone's measure or estimation. She is at risk participating in the sports she does - quite likely facing a lot of pressure from coaches, teammates and herself to be the "ideal" body type or at least what is seen as ideal.
OP - take a good look at her without all her clothes disguising her figure. She may be hitting that "shy age" but if she protests too much (tell her you don't want to see her completely naked!) then that could be pretty telling in itself that she's hiding her true weight.
Reading this thread, I could see for 5 ft a weight of about 100 lbs.
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