Overweight Toddler? - Atlanta,GA

Having been in the same situation with 2 kids, I'd completely agree with your view point and question your doctor's.

I was the over protective mother (with super milk, apparently) who worried about obesity with my kids as soon as they started putting on weight and would ask at each well-baby visit. Our pediatrician's kids are all exactly a year older than our's, and he said he'd begin to be concerned if it was an issue after their 2nd birthday.

From 12-24 months, they need the fat from whole milk (particularly) for proper brain development.
Our kids were consistently in the 90%+ on height and between 75-99% on weight. Our daughter just got back on the growth chart at her 24 month visit - she's now 95% height and 95% weight - perfectly matched. Our son is now in the 90% on height but the 50% on weight as he's grown and thinned out.

Do you take your child to a pediatrician or a Family Practitioner? That may be the difference in philosophy, and I'd put more weight into the American Academy of Pediatric's policies on issues for children this age.

Perhaps their perspective is that 1/3 children born in this generation is expected to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and they are the first generation on record expected to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. Quite sad.

But, I'd personally be concerned after age 2 as long as you know you're feeding him well (healthy foods) and instilling good principles towards lifestyle and activity. If not, make the appropriate changes now before the habits are hard to break.

Good luck!

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Through age 2 (at least) you are supposed to give whole milk because they need the fat for brain development. I think my daughter was 95th %-ile for height and 90th for weight at that age. She just turned 7 and she's still at 95th for height, and probably around 70-75th for weight, and there's not an ounce of fat on her. I would not worry about his weight yet, especially since he is eating such healthy things. Continue doing a great job!

First you should only be giving your kids Raw Milk from Cows on Pasture.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/0...

The Hormones and Soy given to Conventional Cows transfer into the milk and will unnaturally fatten your kids up this in conjunction with the garbagy grains and corn most cows are fed, going lowfat or skim won't help at all, read the lables there is all sorts of garbage added to lowfat or skim products to give them body. Kids need natural unprocessed food.

If you are concerned about your childs weight, get him in a gym program or take him to the park everyday. It's not only good for his weight but overall health.
Read this
http://www.mercola.com/article/milk/no-milk.htm

How much does he weigh?

I think hes fine doctors are so worried about overweight children these days but i think that pertains to the older kids who sit and play video games all day. I wouldnt worry, but i would try giving him so juice through the day.

He is a big boy, but not overweight. Just get in good habits now. My kids are similar in size 90th percentiles for both. We use 1% milk now as it still has the vitamin D - that's the key. We also get lower sugar yogurt and watch the processed foods. He will also continue to get more active and burn calories. I wouldn't be concerned, but I would cut down on the whole milk. Sounds like you're doing well!

Omg, He's just a big boy. My son is 8 months old and people think he's over a year. He's only 3 lbs shy of your 16 month old. I think if you got a 2nd opinion from another pedi. they would beg to differ. My ped. has no concerns about my boy who is off the charts as of the moment. He's healthy and growing. Don't worry about it.

If he has a lot of dairy then he will still get plenty of fat even with low fat products. Then there are the avocados and oils used for cooking etc. The height/weight percentages are where he compares to other kids his age-not where he should be. I think kids of this generation are heavier than they should be. I read that our kids are the first generation to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. :(

My kids are both ~75% for height and ~50% for weight and my ped said they are right where they should be. Maybe there is a BMI calculator for kids online so you can know what a healthy weight range for his age is?

I definitely wouldn't restrict amount food at this age but just always have healthier choices (low fat/low sugar/whole wheat) available.

I don't think I would worry about it. He is in the same percentile for weight and height....I'm not even sure how accurate those charts are anyway. They need that fat from whole milk for brain , growth and development so if you want to I would keep him on that.

The pediatrician told me she was worried about my 4 yr old daughter's weight because she was 33 percentile and 50-60 percentile for height. She told me to put her on whole milk, which I have done and haven't noticed her weight increase one bit. She is way too active.

Chances are your little guy will become even more active in the next few months and that weight will start dropping anyway. My 20 month old is constantly on the go so I'm not sure how long he will last in the 60 something percentile for weight.

Long story short....do what you feel is best. I think the pediatricians have so many worries now with overweight kids that they are overly cautious with a lot of kids.

I wouldn't worry about it too much at this age. Honestly, the weight you mentioned doesn't seem that much to me considering he's also tall for his age. And remember that the fat in the whole milk is for brain development - it's not going to just add padding. :) So don't stop with the whole milk! I would say just keep making sure you are feeding him healthy food - and by healthy let me say, that some people think they are healthy because they don't give their kid candy and fast food. But at the same time they slather gobs of peanut butter on their sandwiches, feed them fried foods all day and give them portion sizes equal to an adults! Remember that a child can't determine how much he is supposed to eat. It's up to us to give the right portion sizes. Not all kids will stop when they need to or when they are full. I've known many who will keep eating as long as it's offered and do start packing on the weight in the toddler years. Just something to keep in mind - good job by the way on not giving juice!! I give you a high five for that one! :)

I wouldn't be worried about it now.... maybe after he's 2 or 3 but I just don't think it's a big deal now! mine were all like that and now that they are older and MUCH more active they play it off. I would still give hime whole milk because they need it for brain developement! (i don't give mine juice either because i used to nanny for a dentist who said it is SO bad for their teeth plus it has so much sugar anyway!)

It sounds like he's perfect!

My two boys, 8 & 10, have always been 95-99th percentile in height, and 90-95th percentile in weight. All the pediatricians have always said they were proportional. That the worry would be if percentiles for height or weight were significantly different from each other.

His height and weight are the same, so he is not overweight.
Mine is 11 months and 28 lbs and the doctor is not concerned as long as the food she eats is healthy. Healthy food includes whole milk (after 1 yr) for brain growth.

After the age of 2 it is recommended that children should drink 2% milk because of the obesity problem with children these days. My son is 3 and in the 9th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height, he weighs 28 pounds and is 38.25" tall. When he decides to drink milk again I'll be giving him Whole Milk. If I could I'd give him sweet cream just to plump him up. lol

I would think that if he is 95th for height as well he is just a big boy. If you aren't feeding him junk and he is just big that is his build.

If his height and weight are both up there I wouldn't be so concerned. If he is not eating junk then he is just a big boy. I have rode this roller coaster just like you. From the start my son was always off the charts for height and weight. In fact when the Dr did talk to me about it, he suggested less juice, no cakes and ice cream is what he said. At the time my son thought yogurt was ice cream and had never even eaten a cookie. He is still big for his age, 80lbs and not even 8 years old yet. He also is super active and very tall for his age as well. My fathers whole side of the family is 6ft + and I think he has these genes. He also is as content eating a cucumber or banana verses a pop tart :)

That is annoying. My daughter is 19 months 40 lbs and very tall (not sure of her exact height right now, but she is usually as tall as 2 1/2 to 3 year olds) and her doctor has never been extremely concerned. She did ask if we would do some blood tests when she hadn't slimmed out much by her 18 month check. The tests were for diabetes and thyroid and some other things, and she was within normal range in all of them. Our ped. just said most likely she will slim out by the time she is 3. She has recently become way more active, swimming and running and jumping all day and she seems to be slimmer every day, so I wouldn't worry about him unless you have any abnormal results on tests.

Don't worry about it. He has a good weight-height balance. He's as heavy as he is supposed to be for his height. What you would worry about is if he were in the 95th percentile for his weight but only the 30th for his height. Keep doing what you're doing Mama!!

Hi. I know you have gotten a lot of advice. I just read the last one and I would suggest anyone who reads that to make sure you do tons of research. Eating raw milk can be VERY dangerous. And if I'm not mistaken, illegal to buy in many states.