Am I too skinny for my age?

Question

I am 16 but I'm only 94 pounds, meaning I've only gained about 6 pounds in the last two years. My height is 5' 3 1/2". I eat a lot and eat very healthy but I'm not gaining any weight. I've also been exercising but no help there. No sleeping problems either.

My doctor can't find anything wrong, so I haven't been to other ones... but I feel absolutely dreadful because I look so small. I can't even wear short shorts. All my classmates are maturing and I still somewhat resemble a stick. What do I do? Can there be a hidden problem somewhere?

Answer 1

Me mum was quite skinny so she thought. She often said she could hardly wait until the day when she could stand with knees together and not have a space above them.

Later she filled out and was quite the lass. Sometimes it takes a bit of time, but the blessing is that when older you will probably never be fat, but nicely proportioned.

Take heart, you are probably quite right at present. A good guess is that gaining three pounds a year is probably very healthy for you. I am willing to bet you are quite lovely as you are.

Answer 2

Your ideal weight would be 117 lbs so below 97 lbs could be regarded as underweight.

As you eat a lot perhaps 94 lbs is your normal weight.  Some gym instructors actually tell people not to take too much notice of these height weight tables.  If you feel OK you are probably OK.

Answer 3

Try asking your doctor about an over active thyroid problem, your thyroid controls your metabolism so if it's working faster than it's supposed to, then you need medication. My sister has it and ever since she got medicated, she looks totally normal and healthy, but still skinny so you don't have to worry about getting fat.

Answer 4

if you've been underweight all your life like i have there's nothing wrong.

everything sounds ok, my sister is like that too