When adults reach a point where weight loss levels off and they haven't reached their target goal, it's called hitting a plateau. For most kids it's a bit different. Unlike adults, children are continually growing taller and developing. So a stalled scale signals weight is being maintained. As kids grow up, they'll “fit” their weight better.

But some kids can hit their own kind of fitness plateau. One minute everything is going along fine, and they're maintaining or slowly losing extra weight; the next, they've gained a pound or two even though they're eating well and keeping active and a close examination of the fitness journal doesn't reveal any problems. Here are a few questions to ask:

• Is it muscle? If children have been lifting weights or doing any other sports that might tone or bulk their muscle mass, the weight could be coming from there. Muscle weighs more than fat.

• Is it puberty? Girls and boys will gain weight at puberty — boys in muscle mass and girls in fat tissue (unfair but true).

• Is it a growth spurt? Kids don't grow at a slow and steady rate. If they're weighing more, they could very well have picked up some height, too.

First of all, remind your child that it's how he feels that matters, not what the scale says. If this weight-loss plateau turns out to be the result of one of these transient causes, then the situation will soon resolve itself. If you can't pinpoint a problem and your child's weight continues to climb, however, it is time to make an appointment with your child's pediatrician to make sure there isn't a medical reason for the gain.