My 13-year-old gained 20 pounds in a month.
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Carol_Arnold79
Member Offline
Member Offline
My son Gained 20 lbs last month. He's 13, 4'7 and was 70 pounds. Now he is 91. He is at a normal weight still, but is this normal? I noticed a lot of junk food wrappers in his garbage can which I didn't buy. Should I worry? Should I watch his diet? He stopped gaining weight. Now he is chubby and has a pot belly and moobs. He also grew out of a lot of his old clothes and is wearing a Husky Size in pants for his height when i took him shopping last week. I didn't say anything, because he is still at a normal weight, and as i said, he stopped putting on weight. What happened, though?  
|
Carol_Arnold79
Member Offline
Member Offline
| I am aware he may be depressed, and he goes to therapy, but how could he have gained so much weight so fast, and where did he get the food? He has also been sedentary since the beginning of quarantine, but hadn't put on any weight until last month |
Anonymous
|
Two things:
I’m going to bet he starts shooting up soon. Lots of kids grow out before they grow up. My son who is almost 13 has grown about six inches since the start of quarantine. And 70 pounds was really tiny. Where is he getting the food? Is he sneaking outside of the house during a pandemic to go shopping? Take away his phone, keys, whatever. He should be allowed to eat food, but not in his room, and sneaking out of a house during a pandemic is a health issue for everyone. He could kill you or others in the household if he brings the virus in. Did your spouse bring it in because your rules were draconian? |
Anonymous
| I bet he’s going to grow. 4’7 and 70lbs is tiny! That’s the size of my 10 year old DD! |
Anonymous
|
Agree! Even my failure to thrive baby, fall off the growth charts DS is bigger than that. He turned 13 a couple of
Months ago, is 5’ and weighs about 90 pounds. He swims and plays tennis. I bet your DS is about to hit a growth spurt. Are you making enough food available to him? He may be sneaking junk because he’s hungry. Make sure you’re not projecting weird food issues on him. |
Anonymous
Agreed! If he’s that tiny, and he’s sneaking food, I’m concerned you aren’t giving him enough to begin with! |
Anonymous
My 9 yr old is bigger than this. Please have your son evaluated by a pediatrician |
Anonymous
| Whatever you do, don’t shame him for eating, even junk food. I wouldn’t make a ton of it available but if you tell him he is eating too much it’ll probably cause shame which will in tuen make him eat more. That is a lot of weight gain, but as other commenters have said, odds are he will grow into it. This is a prime age for a growth spurt and often weight gain comes before height gain. Just keep taking him to those well child visits. |
Anonymous
| You also need to figure out where the junk food is coming from. Older sibling? Other parent? |
Anonymous
Wow, you took the words right out of my mouth. That is exactly my concern, too!!! |
Anonymous
|
You might get better answers in the kids with special needs section. It sounds like he was previously in the 1% for both height and weight. I think any huge deviation from a child's growth curve is something their ped would want to look into. Does he have a diagnosis related to his small stature? Maybe he is just in a growth spurt, but I would want to see a doc to make sure he's not retaining fluid or experiencing some other medical problem.
My child has always been <5% for weight but 15-20% for height-she is a former low birth weight preemie with no known growth issues and a good appetite. She's gained about 10lbs over the course of quarantine (which is great!) and I noticed that a tiny friend of hers also appears to have gained a good amount. |
Anonymous
|
Seconding the recommendation to talk to your pediatrician, and specifically, ask to have your son screened for celiac (full panel, not just TTG-IGA).
The stereotype with celiac is skinny people who can't hold onto weight, but a recent study showed that just as many people are normal weight or overweight. My kid showed a ravenous appetite and put on a ton of weight (fat, not healthy muscle building) suddenly, while never feeling full (even after multiple helpings) and not reaching their predicted adult height. The disease destroys villi in the small intestine, but it can be patchy by nature so some areas absorb nutrients and others don't - IOW, they were malnourished and able to keep weight at the same time. celiac.org is a good reference. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| It's normal. He's about to hit his growth spurt and he's bulking up for that. |
Anonymous
|
4’7” for a 13 yo isn’t even on the growth chart. Has he always been that low? What did his pediatrician say at his last check up?
When my son dropped percentiles on the growth chart at 12 (from 40th to 20th) we were referred to an endocrinologist. |
Anonymous
| This post is odd - a 13 year old boy should not be four feet, 7 inches and 70 pounds. He cannot have been at a normal weight, gained 20 pounds and still be “normal weight”. I am worried you have not been providing adequate sized meals and nutrition for him, which stunted his growth - it may be he is hungry and eating whatever he can obtain to compensate, and that is allowing him to catch up on weight. Not unusual for kids to plump up before they gain a few inches in height. How long since he had his annual physical with a physician? What did they say about his height/weight? |