My Kid Is Losing Weight — Should I Be Concerned?

Published on 10/11/2018 at 1:50 PM

The only weight concern I've ever had about my kids, ages 4 and 7, was that their doctor might lecture me about it being too high. My children aren't unhealthy by any means, but they've always been at the top of or off the charts when it comes to both height and weight. My grilled cheese-loving preschooler is wearing a size made for 6 year olds, and my daughter towers over most of her classmates and, at one point, outweighed her best friend by more than 25 pounds.

So when I noticed that my hardy second grader was getting waif-like, I was obviously concerned. It started when she came down with a stomach bug, only eating apple sauce, toast, and bananas for a few days. But her limited diet — after years of eating pretty much anything and everything I put in front of her — continued for weeks, and suddenly, she was down more than five pounds, which meant she'd lost 10 percent of her body weight.

I took her to the doctor, who ran some tests to check if she'd developed Type 1 diabetes (we have a family history). When that came back negative, her pediatrician reassured me that she was still tracking a the top of the growth chart for weight and BMI and that we should just watch it. Perhaps, he said, her dietary changes and sudden aversion to fatty, sugary foods were more mental than physical. The idea of my 7-year-old potentially having an eating disorder wasn't any less concerning than any other diagnosis he could have given me, and many a careful, roundabout conversation with my daughter followed. When you've never given your child anything but positive feedback about her body and eating, how do you ask if she's purposefully limiting calories without also planting a seed that her body was and is less than perfect? It was tricky, but eventually I came to the conclusion that she wasn't trying to intentionally lose weight.

Luckily, after a few weeks, my daughter's weight loss stalled, and she started incorporating more foods, most of them healthy, back into her diet, which I'm now more aware of than ever. If your child is losing weight and you're not sure whether it's normal or a cause for concern, here's what you need to know.

Possible Causes

Your child's weight loss simply might be from healthier eating and getting more exercise, as my daughter's was. However, certain illnesses, like Type 1 diabetes and other endocrine disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, infections, or kidney disease, along with certain medicines, can also cause weight loss. In general, it's a good idea to consult your pediatrician about any unexplained weight loss of more than a few pounds.

What to Watch For

Watch when and what your child is eating for a week or so. Have their eating habits changed? In addition, track symptoms like diarrhea, excessive hunger or thirst, stomach aches, increased sleepiness, changes in urination or stool frequency, fever, or any body pains. Those symptoms will help your doctor figure out what's going on.

When You Should Be Concerned

Losing a few pounds should not be a cause for alarm. A slow down in growth or changes in eating habits or activity levels is most likely the cause. My daughter cut a lot of processed and sugary foods out of her diet at the same time she started playing soccer for a few hours a week, hence the weight loss. As a rule of thumb, your child should stay around the same weight percentile that they've always been in. If that statistic drops substantially, or if your child is losing weight without any changes in diet or exercise levels, it's time to talk to your doctor.

How to Talk to Your Child About Weight

Tread lightly when you speak to your kids about weight loss and weight in general. According to a 2017 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics, talking to your kids about weight can have potentially disastrous consequences, especially if your child is overweight: "Rather than motivating positive change, this stigma contributes to behaviors such as binge eating, social isolation, avoidance of health care services, decreased physical activity, and increased weight gain, which worsen obesity and create additional barriers to healthy behavior change. Furthermore, experiences of weight stigma also dramatically impair quality of life, especially for youth."

Similarly, praising your child's weight loss signals to them that thinness is a trait they should desire over being healthy and could lead to the development of disordered eating. A child who is suffering from an eating disorder, such as bulimia or anorexia, will likely hide the disease from their parents, so watch for signs like obsession with food, constant dieting or counting calories, going to the bathroom immediately after eating, and not eating in front of others. If you think your child has an eating disorder, seek professional help as soon as possible.