When I tell my teenage son that a letter has arrived from the GGD and that he has to come for an interview, he looks at me questioningly. Why? I also have no idea why and give up some possible options I can think of. Including that of my child's underweight.
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Since he is in high school - in the second grade - and we don't know anything else, the invitation is somewhat unexpected. But it appears from the letter from the GGD that the son has completed a questionnaire at school and that measurements have been taken. Based on the results of that list and measurements, he was invited for an interview.
I ask him again whether he may have entered in the questionnaire that he is not feeling well, or that there are other things that are bothering him. That can also be a reason that he received an invitation for an interview. But none of that. Fortunately. Although I think I know my son well, you never know for sure. Imagine that there is something going on with him that we know nothing about. That he plays nice weather to us, but in the end he still has issues that he does not discuss at home. That seems very annoying to me. For us, but especially for him.
And then something starts to dawn on me, I think I know why they want to see him, probably because of his underweight. I have no doubt that Luc weighs too little for his age. Still, he's average in height and doesn't get sick very often, so I'm not really worried.
It is a drama to buy pants for that boy. There are few brands of jeans that fit him well. Most of them slide right off his ass, even with the elastic waistband fully tightened.
But apparently my child's underweight is reason enough for the GGD for a check-up appointment. Luc asked me if I wanted to go with him for an interview, because he preferred not to go alone. A good sign I think, because with that I think I know that he apparently has nothing to hide from us.
Even though I was 'shocked' by the invitation from the GGD personally, I am not worried about my child's underweight. With his height of 1.60 m and weight of 36 kilos, he has a BMI of 14. That is clearly too low if you are to believe all the calculations. The nutrition center also informs me that this BMI is too low. But it seems important to me that you also assess how your child is doing.
Did you know that being underweight in a child can be hereditary? You often see that children who are underweight also have parents who - now or in the past - were underweight.
Is your child healthy? Not often sick? Energetic? Is he growing well? Does he eat well? Not listless? Well, then there really isn't much to worry about, right?
Apparently I came to the right conclusion. Even though my child is underweight, and he is even on the border of seriously underweight. Yet the lady from the GGD sees no need to check him again.
I am glad that we went to the GGD together. Luc has suffered from being underweight in the past. Not because he was sick or not energetic enough, but because he was being bullied about it. He was called "Bone". And that's not bad for once, but if you're constantly confronted with it, it cuts in. At the time, it was even a reason for a serious argument in which he hit a classmate with a bloody nose.
Even though my child is no longer concerned about being underweight, he did listen with interest to the advice of the GGD and me 😉 . And that is now bearing fruit. We have focused on more proteins with our advice.
He now regularly eats a bowl of custard in between. Or a boiled or fried egg. He puts some butter on his bread and grabs an extra piece of fruit. In addition to the 'normal' snack appetite that he also has, because he really does not turn down a bag of chips or a tasty cookie. In fact… they go into a hollow molar if I don't pay attention.
If you have a child who is underweight and you are concerned because he or she is physically stunted or is often ill? Be sure to contact your doctor or a dietician. This can determine whether your child is eating enough and getting enough nutrients. If no strange things come out that is one less worry.
