We've got used to seeing bigger children and we don't often see them as big. Personally, I'm very conscious of DS's weight given that I've struggled with mine through my life. Many of his friends are a similar size, but there is one boy whose parents have been told is 'obese', only they can't see it or understand it. They say he's 'robust', 'healthy' and he'll 'grow out of it'. He is a big boy, and tbh if he was mine I would be taking some steps to ensure he's getting enough exercise and not eating too much junk. Parents are often the worse judge of these things, and can often be blinded by love to the realities of how big their children are getting.
I'd have been embarrassed to have been told at school that I was 'obese', but perhaps seeing it written down officially, rather than constantly being told that I was just 'chunky', would 'grow out of it' or making excuses, would have meant I could have taken action before I reached adulthood and now weight is much harder to shift.
That being said, BMI alone is a flawed measurement. I'd look at height vs weight on the percentiles personally, as well as BMI.
It's much easier to adjust a child's diet and exercise habits before they're old enough to protest too strongly than it is to end up with an adult struggling with their weight.
