# Belly Fat in Little Girls



## 1xmom (Dec 30, 2003)

My dd is 8, is about 4'7 and weights roughly 60+ lbs. For some reason it looks like she is getting more belly fat, but that seems to be the only place she is gaining weight. Is this normal? She is quite a good eater, and is very active (doesn't sit still too long), so I'm not too worried about if she'll be overweight. She has gone from wearing slim jeans to regular b/c of her middle. Should I be concerned?
Any comments.


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## CarrieMF (Mar 7, 2004)

I wouldn't be concerned as long as she eats healthy & gets exercise. It is normal for kids to gain some weight as they start to enter puberty


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## Leilalu (May 29, 2004)

my dd is a tiny thing, but goes through growth spurts where she bulks up a tiny bit, then thins out again when she grows.


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## SAHDS (Mar 28, 2008)

Belly *fat*, or just a rounder belly? I'm sure it's quite normal for kids to go through all kinds of growth spurts. She's wearing 'regular' jeans, so what is the concern? That she doesn't wear 'slim' anymore? Children are all shapes and sizes, I'm sure she's just fine. Plus, 4'7" and 60 lbs. seems well w/in proportion, if not quite thin.


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## LynnS6 (Mar 30, 2005)

Her height/weight are quite proportional. My suspicion is that this is a prepubescent body change - she's getting more rounded. At 4'7" she's pretty tall for 8, and 60 lbs is definitely on the light side. (In contrast, our state law says that kids have to be 6 years old and 60 lbs. to be out of booster seats. That must mean that a fair share of 6 yos are 60 lbs!)

If she's active, eats well, then relax.


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## amcal (Jan 13, 2003)

My 6yo has a rounded belly too. It's just how she's built. She's rock solid - 47 inches and 52lbs - all muscle due to 9 hours of gymnastics a week and non stop bike riding, scooter riding, running around playing etc.. But, she has a very rounded belly. It's not fat but it is round.

At her current weight and height, it seems fine. But, adding belly FAT would be something I would monitor as fat around our middle section is the worst kind of fat to have. Now, just rounding out or filling out is completely different than actually putting fat around the middle.


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## betterparent (Jul 23, 2006)

is she about to have a growth spurt??


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## karne (Jul 6, 2005)

My dd looks the same-she's a little bit older. It's a growth-pre-pubescent rounding thing going on. Her appetite has also been big too. My dd is very tall, looks slim but solid, so the rounding is noticable to her, and, unbelievably others have commented! We talk a bunch about how strong she is, and how her body is working just the way she needs it to right now. She is beautiful and I want her to feel good about her amazing self, and not self conscious because suddenly the ridiculous clothes for kids her age are awkward on her.


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## 1xmom (Dec 30, 2003)

I'm thinking it may be growth spurt (hopefully). I'll probably cry if it's puberty. It's funny b/c although she is 8, the only time I can tell if she has hit a growth spurt is at the end or beginning of seasons and she fits into NOTHING in her closet and then I am like "Oh, u must've hit a growth spur". Lately she does eat like there is no tomorrow. She is in a very active summer day camp, and even after a full day of camp which includes swimming, horseback riding, canoing, adventures in the woods, etc. when she comes home I am expecting her to be tired but she just comes home ready for dinner and then wants to go back out to run around or hitting a tennis ball on the court behind our house.
I do know that one sign of a growth spurt is eating alot but she's always been a good eater.

As far as the charts go - she has always been 75 percentile height and 50 percentile for her weight so that is really not a major concern. ANd I guess b/c she practically lost her belly when she started walking and is just now getting one back, I was thinking in my mind "where did that come from".

After thinking more about it I think her dad got me a little paranoid b/c he has an older dd who was always on the chunky side and he made a comment to me about our dd getting a little belly and my response to him was "so do you." To me, she is only 8 and is still growing, but realistically there are no signs that she has a weight problem like his other dd, so I think I can just relax more.

Thanks ladies.


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## thixle (Sep 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *amcal* 
At her current weight and height, it seems fine. But, adding belly FAT would be something I would monitor as fat around our middle section is the worst kind of fat to have. Now, just rounding out or filling out is completely different than actually putting fat around the middle.

I was told it was only fat _under the muscle_ around the belly that was bad... that "jiggly" belly fat was the healthy fat and "hard" fat in the middle was bad...

Anyway, I clicked because I was a FAT kid right before puberty. Seriously "jiggly" all over (picked on at school and everything) and my mom tried to get me to diet while the doc just told me to ride bikes and swim







I shot up over a foot and lost 20-30ish lbs in one summer vacation. Been about the same size ever since... Oh, and I didn't get my period until over a year later-- you know, puberty takes a while









I wouldn't sweat it, and I personally think the message of "fat" at such a young age is horribly skewed. IMO, kids should be chubby and I worry about the super-thin kids with no muscle tone more.


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## CarrieMF (Mar 7, 2004)

Quote:

I'll probably cry if it's puberty.
puberty starts years before AF arrives. My oldest is 9.5. she started getting pubic hair before she turned 9. I don't know when as she was 9 for 2 months before I noticed, but she said it was there before she turned 9. She says her breasts are bigger, but they're not.lol She *may* be getting breastbuds but they're very small if she is.


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