Sparkle Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 So...I'm filling out paperwork for my kids to be added on to our life insurance policy, and they need to know their heights and weights. I knew my oldest ds is tall and skinny, but I was shocked by how little he weighs. He is 5'10.5" and only weighs 108 lbs. I had him weigh himself 3 times to make sure, and yes, he weighs only that much. According to the BMI chart I looked at online, that puts him in less than the 5th percentile, and he is underweight by 9-10 lbs. He seems perfectly healthy to me, but do you think I should try to put some weight on him? I'm not even sure how I would go about doing this. He eats all the time, BTW, and I don't restrict his calories at all. Maybe he has a tapeworm (only semi-joking here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 He's probably just a skinny kid, and will fill out within the next few years. Make sure he's eating well, and think more in terms of helping him work toward building more muscle. One of my nephews was always very slim, and once he started working out (at around your ds's age, I think,) he got into great shape very quickly. By the time he entered college, he looked like a Calvin Klein underwear model. Your ds may very well be the same kind of kid. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 All the kids in my family were the same until marraige, which seemed to remedy the underweight problem! I wouldn't worry about it at all as long as he's healthy, gets exercise, and eats a balanced diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 That IS thin. My brother had cystic fibrosis, and was a skinny 120 pounder at 5'11"--I can't imagine 15 pounds less. I'd consult my ped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 My son is the same height and weighs just 2 lbs more. Our doc checked him out last fall and said he was perfectly healthy. If he's always been proportioned the way he is now, it's likely just the way he is. Keep in mind these weight charts reflect new averages. Years ago he would not have been underweight at this height & weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 My kids have been in the 5th percentile all their life. As long as this isn't a sudden change I wouldn't worry. My 10 year old isn't 60 lbs yet. He wears size 8 clothes. If your son seems healthly and doesn't have digestive problems, or look haggard with dark circles under his eyes, I wouldn't worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Go by his health, not his weight. Sounds like he is just perfect to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Sounds perfectly fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in VA Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 What was his dad's height and weight at that age? Other family members? My dds are tall and very thin but my dh, mil and fil were the same, and they are both healthy. My oldest dd is the spitting image of my mil at the same age, long and lean.:001_smile: Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks, all. I was surprised when I weighed the kids that ds13 weighs ten pounds more than ds15, I mean WTH? The only thing I worry about is if he ever got really sick, he could not afford to lose any weight. But he is in general a very healthy kid. Of course, finding pants to fit him has always been my big challenge :001_smile: He has always been skinny, and his height has shot up in the last couple of years, so I think he just needs to do some catching up weight-wise. I marvel at how he can eat so much and not seem to gain an ounce - definitely not the case with me :D DH was a tall skinny kid too, so I guess it is his genes. Chris, I actually had ds checked out last year by our ped because he was having some stomach pain and diarrhea occasionally. She ran a bunch of bloodwork and she initially thought he might have celiac disease, but a gastroenterologist reviewed his test results and said that everything is perfectly normal. He advised giving him probiotics and extra fiber, and that seems to have done the trick as far as regulating his digestive system. So I believe his health is OK. Thanks for your thoughts, I feel reassured. If anyone has anything else to share, feel free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2J112903 Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Unless he has dropped of *his* growth curve, then he is perfectly healthy. If he has always be tiny/small, then that for *him* is healthy. It is when a child falls off their growth curve that it becomes worriesome. Take for example my J-went from being 50th+ to the 23rd, in a matter of a very short time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) Hah! My boys are at the 0%. Really! They're not even ON the chart!!! Once, ds7 was in the 3%, and we cheered!!! They're perfectly healthy, tall, slender, Nordic boys. The apple doesn't fall far from (their father's) tree. :lol: When I met dh, he was 3 inches taller than your son, and 8 lbs. heavier. (BMI of 14.5.) He's just slender! (Marriage has rounded him out a bit. Now his BMI is around 17.5.) My mom tried fattening him up with a steak every morning for breakfast one summer (we were in college) and he lost 10 lbs. Eek! On the other hand, he's old enough for another old trick of my mother's, which was more nourishing-- the great peanut butter shake. (This was before the days of smoothies!) 1 banana 1 cup milk 1/2 cup powdered milk 1 tbsp. peanut butter (or, to taste) 1 raw egg, opt. Blend and enjoy! If the banana is frozen, or you add ice cubes, is like a frozen dessert. :) I consumed quite a few of these in junior high and high school. (I, however, no longer have this "problem" :D) Edited January 14, 2011 by Medieval Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 According to the BMI chart I looked at online, that puts him in less than the 5th percentile, and he is underweight by 9-10 lbs. Why not get a doctor's opinion on it? It could be growth spurt on the height and completely normal. But worth the peace of mind to have some follow up or something like that. I took the measurements you listed and did an online BMI for teens and it put his scores in the less than 1 percentile range. That would have me as mom encouraging doctor or other health care provider just checking on stuff for second opinion. -crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Calvin is always underweight on the BMI chart - he has put on a bit of weight recently but is still only in the 2nd percentile. He's thin, but he always has been - my brother is exactly the same. I did once get him checked out by the doctor; she did some blood tests and concluded that he was just naturally thin. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Yep. We've had all the test done, too, with our first boy. Conclusion? Naturally thin. We've since moved, had another baby, etc. Our new doc just looks at us all in the office, nods her head, and concludes that it just runs in the family. :lol: She also mentioned that the current standards for children are much more generous than they used to be. Just because our sons are at the 0-3% of the weight chart, does *not* mean that they are 47-50% off from the "ideal", just the "median" of a sample of Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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