proper weight for a 15 year old

L

lesliemarie

Cathlete
I have a question, my daughter is 5'2 and weighs just a little over 100 pounds and kids are calling her anorexic, and she eats plenty, my kids are just tiny. Is she at the proper weight for her height? kids pediatrician is not concerned, he says my kids are just that way.
I am contemplating making up a t-shirt that on the front says " I am not anorexic" and on the back saying "I am just better looking than you" LOL.
 
IMHO, if your daughter is eating healthfully, and your ped is not concerned, and she's energetic, AND there has been no disruption in her menstrual cycle (which can be a fairly telling indicator of severe underweight) then you have nothing to worry about. Scale weight is grossly overestimated as a health indicator even when compared to height and age; what's more important is body composition (muscle and other fat-free mass in relation to body fat stores).

A-Jock
 
I just posted this on another thread. It might help since there are ages on this chart.

If her doctor is not concerned then I wouldn't be either! :)

Here you go:

This is from the Weight Watchers Website:

"Weight Ranges are used to recommend appropriate weights for differing groups of people. Weight Watchers uses ranges based on Body Mass Index (BMI). Based on our Weight Ranges table, a recommended weight is a “general neighborhood” of about 20 pounds from the low to the high end of the range."

http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL280/1863976/3597472/86445752.jpg
 
My daughter gets that too. She is 5'4" and just under 100 pounds, but has an unbelievably tiny frame and no breasts to speak of. But she is an excellent eater (no sweet tooth) and menstruates regularly. Her doctor thinks all is well and I do too. She looks thin, but not skinny, because she has such a small frame. If that makes any sense. I always tell her to say "I am the most perfect Me in the whole world."
Carole
 
Most of my DH's family have small frames with what I refer to as "fire cracker" metabolisms so they are naturally very thin people (my DH included). You said that she eats well so I don't think there is anything to worry about.

Kids, unfortunately can be mean...and maybe some of these kids are simply jealous of your daughters tiny, thin stature? I know I am jealous of my DH and his wonderfully thin family!:)

Have a great work out!

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
 
My daughter is 16 1/2 and weighs 105 pounds and is 5'5" and everytime I take her to the doctors, the doctor is always saying how she needs to eat and gain weight. DUH!!! She eats all the time just like I do. Her metabolism is high and so she is what she is. I just hate it when someone assumes you are starving yourself or your child. Good Grief!!

Charlotte~~
 
I have a niece who all during HS people would ask this because she was 5-7 and wearing a size 0. When she was 18, she blossomed and now in college is up to a size 5-7, so was just a late bloomer. She gave all her 0's to my daughter who is almost 12 and heading the same route, and getting the same stupid questions your daughter and my niece got. Funny, my son is almost 17, also has done the late bloomer, very thin thing and is finally looking normal weight and no one bothers him about it.
 
She sounds fine. When I was 15, I only weighed about 97 pounds. I had big boobs too, but skinny legs. I wasn't athletic, so I didn't have muscle at all.

Some kids just take longer to fill out. Kids are just notoriously critical of their peers and usually pretty mean. As long as her doctor isn't concerned and you know she's eating, then listen to her when she tells you about how mean they are. But don't worry about her.
 
Teenagers and pre-teens are still growing and many appear gangly and quite thin. I don't believe your daughter is unique in this way...I see many emaciated looking teens, boys and girls when I go to the mall. When I was a junior in high school, I was the height I am now, 5'7" and weighed 106 lbs. I ate like a horse, but had the raging metabolism of an adolescent. My doctor said it was normal. You fill out by your early 20s. Many teens are like this. Nothing to worry about. Nix the idea of the tee shirt, you will be giving other teens the idea that thin is the definition of beauty. The media does a good enough job of that..they don't need any more help. As far as what to do about the anorexia name calling, unfortunately you just have to talk to your daughter and learn to ignore it. Its a sad fact of life that being a teenager is one of the most difficult times in life, everyones quirks become the targtes of someone else's jests or spiteful comments.
 
Wow.. that's suprising.. I've found boys are brutal about the small boys. Sadly I've seen it really effects what sports they can play. It seems that the late bloomer boys (eg voice not changing until HS, still small) have it really tough.

Re your daughters how lucky for them they eat well and have good weight. My daughter has always had to watch her weight and is very active in sports. So just with being thin and eating well, some kids are heavier as well and work very hard at it.
 
Hi
If your DD is eating well, then she just has a high metabolism. My DD is about 95 lbs and 5'3" (12 1/2 yo). She's all muscle from athletic activity and a size 0 only if the pants are cut extra tight/slim. Her friends' mouths drop as she will eat 6 slices of pizza in one sitting sometimes. My DH will tell her to slow down, or she'll get sick. (he was the same size at her age, could eat alot but now he watches his intake) It's an age/metabolism thing, IMHO. /karen
 
Being a band geek helped, and he plays soccer and was a swimmer. Being small helped on distance events and fly! He was 5 foot entering HS and was shy, now a junior he is almost 6 foot and has a girlfriend and is always doing things with buddies. HS is a strange time isn't it?

And Junior High girls are brutal. DD is in 6th grade and luckily does not aspire to be with the "in" girls. She says it must be so hard to have to worry constantly about what other people think of you like those girls do.

I often think I was born into the wrong generation. In the 70's being teeny tiny was in, and I have always been a strong musclular, prone to weight gain type. Now I go to the Jr High or high school, and am small compared to these tall strong athletic girls, not to mention the many, many chubby girls.
 
I have to agree with all of the previous posts. I wouldn't worry, especially if her doctor isn't worried. When I was 15, I was 5'3" and weighed 110-115. I was athletic and played softball, track, tennis. I wore a size 5-7 in junior clothes (this is when the smallest size I believe was a 3...I had never in my life heard of anything smaller until recently.) I was at a nice healthy weight, very active and like most teenagers could eat alot and not gain weight. (OOOhhh how things change when we get older don't they?)

Anyway, I knew lots of girls who were alot smaller than me. Some of them still wore childrens size clothes because they weren't even big enough to fit into a size three. I always felt like I was so much bigger than my peers, when really I think I was just average. None of these girls was ever called anorexic. Now, I have to say I don't have teenage children so I have no idea what it is really like in high schools these days, but I have to wonder...is it that your daughter is really so thin, or is it that so many other teenagers are so overweight these days that what should be considered a normal weight is considered anorexic? Just curious...

Nicole
 
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