Advice for my 15 year old niece?

helloitssophie
helloitssophie Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
Hello, This post has no relevance to my weight loss, however my niece is 15 years old and she has very distorted views on body image. She currently weighs 143lbs however thinks that her average weight should be 100lbs? Is it only me who thinks that is a very unhealthy weight? Does anyone know an average weight for a 15 year old who's 5ft 5?

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Going by bmi she has a bmi of 24 which is at the upper end of normal. Due to get age it may be worth consulting a Doctor about her most ideal weight range.
  • jenillawafer
    jenillawafer Posts: 426 Member
    Anywhere from 115-145 would be ideal in comparison with a bmi chart.
  • boroko
    boroko Posts: 358 Member
    Currently her weight is just over 10 stone which puts her towards the top end of the weight range for her age (89th centile) - if she were to weigh 100lb that is just over 7 stone which is very low for her height and would put her at the very bottom of the range for her age (5th centile). A lot depends on her build but even if she has a very small frame that would be pretty low for her height. A more realistic weight would be around 8 1/2 stone (119lbs) which is in the middle of the range for her age.

    At her age girls tend to be obsessed with their weight and there is a lot of peer pressure to be super skinny. My son is 15 and sometimes it seems that being skinny is all the girls are concerned about and they can be pretty nasty to anyone who is of a healthy weight, and downright vile to anyone heavier! The NHS website has information and resources about healthy weights that might be helpful in talking to her about this, otherwise I would suggest trying to get her to see her GP or practice nurse to discuss what would be healthy for her and how she can achieve this. They may have a leaflet that you can pick up for her as a starting point.

    It's great that you are concerned for her as she may take advice from you better than from anyone as ancient and ignorant as her parents (assuming that she is like most teenagers :wink: ). Worrying about weight and having unrealistic ideals is the last thing she needs at her age.

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