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Suggest Diet For Underweight Kids
Question: Hi
My son is 7.5 year old.
We are observing that he is getting tired very early / frequently while playing / studying. Some time after sitting for ½ an hour for study / watching TV , he start laying down saying that I am tired cant sit any more. And most of time he is resilient and more into arguments.
Some facts about him
1. Very Thin body built up
2. Height is at par with age group
3. Weight is almost 20kg, which seems underweight
4. Low involvement in physical game. Although we are trying a lot, It may be due to low stamina . But overall he is active
5. He took very long time to finish his meal, usually 40-50 mins. After 3-4 bites he shows stomach fullness
6. Prefers vegetables over serials. Some time like non-veg too
7. Don’t like milk / milk products since birth. Still we use to give him milk with Boost/ Pediasure
8. Had some yellowness over teeth. More over teeth are not well structured
9. Very low concentration in studies.
10. In Nov’14, his arm is got fractured while playing on swings and plastered for 21 days.
11. 4-5 times a year, getting fever. Duration of each occurrence is for 4-5 days
Can you please advice why its happening to him.
Do we need to get him checked clinically.
Is there any blood test/ or any other tests to ascertain whether he is anemic.
Or any Diet / tonics / medication you prescribe.
My son is 7.5 year old.
We are observing that he is getting tired very early / frequently while playing / studying. Some time after sitting for ½ an hour for study / watching TV , he start laying down saying that I am tired cant sit any more. And most of time he is resilient and more into arguments.
Some facts about him
1. Very Thin body built up
2. Height is at par with age group
3. Weight is almost 20kg, which seems underweight
4. Low involvement in physical game. Although we are trying a lot, It may be due to low stamina . But overall he is active
5. He took very long time to finish his meal, usually 40-50 mins. After 3-4 bites he shows stomach fullness
6. Prefers vegetables over serials. Some time like non-veg too
7. Don’t like milk / milk products since birth. Still we use to give him milk with Boost/ Pediasure
8. Had some yellowness over teeth. More over teeth are not well structured
9. Very low concentration in studies.
10. In Nov’14, his arm is got fractured while playing on swings and plastered for 21 days.
11. 4-5 times a year, getting fever. Duration of each occurrence is for 4-5 days
Can you please advice why its happening to him.
Do we need to get him checked clinically.
Is there any blood test/ or any other tests to ascertain whether he is anemic.
Or any Diet / tonics / medication you prescribe.
Brief Answer:
Encourage him for calorie rich food and get some test done
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for the query
The weight of your child is 20 kg and this is below the 50th centile(average for XXXXXXX boy of this age) according to the latest IAP growth chart(Ref---http://www.indianpediatrics.net/jan2015/47.pdf).But his present weight is not very low(less than 3rd centile).The height should be around 125 cm.
This is the growing age and proper nutrition must be met to achieve normal growth.
Children of this age are really fussy and prefer to play rather than doing anything else(eating is one).The parent should encourage the feed not it should not be forced.
The calorie requirement for this age is somewhere around 1600-1700/day.
So food rich in calorie and protein should be given like egg,ghee,cheese,butter,milk etc.
Vegetables and fruits are good for health as they are rich in iron and vitamins.So encourage him to have vegetables and fruits.Papaya is rich in digestive enzymes and is a very good appetite stimulant.
I recommend all the parents to give proper nutrition and discourage any kind of tonic or appetite stimulant as there is no evidence that these medications help in growth.
You can give pediasure as it makes the milk calorie and nutrient rich.The teeth malformation may be due to calcium deficiency. Maintain proper hygiene of the mouth and teeth by encouraging him to brush his teeth at least twice a day and to rinse his mouth properly after having meals.
Due to inadequate nutritional intake these children are prone to deficient in iron(causing anemia),calcium and vit D content which are very important for proper growth.
I would like to get Hb(for anemia) along with iron profile(in case of anemia),serum calcium and Vit D level done to find out the deficiency if any.I would also like to get him clinically examined by a pediatrician to see the signs of anemia,for assessing the dental health and to rule out any other disorder(like cardiac although it is much less common) causing easy fatiguability.
In short encourage him for calorie rich food ,get him clinically evaluated by a pediatrician and get few tests done to rule out any deficiency.
I hope this answers your query.
I shall be glad to answer if you have any further query.
Regards
Encourage him for calorie rich food and get some test done
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for the query
The weight of your child is 20 kg and this is below the 50th centile(average for XXXXXXX boy of this age) according to the latest IAP growth chart(Ref---http://www.indianpediatrics.net/jan2015/47.pdf).But his present weight is not very low(less than 3rd centile).The height should be around 125 cm.
This is the growing age and proper nutrition must be met to achieve normal growth.
Children of this age are really fussy and prefer to play rather than doing anything else(eating is one).The parent should encourage the feed not it should not be forced.
The calorie requirement for this age is somewhere around 1600-1700/day.
So food rich in calorie and protein should be given like egg,ghee,cheese,butter,milk etc.
Vegetables and fruits are good for health as they are rich in iron and vitamins.So encourage him to have vegetables and fruits.Papaya is rich in digestive enzymes and is a very good appetite stimulant.
I recommend all the parents to give proper nutrition and discourage any kind of tonic or appetite stimulant as there is no evidence that these medications help in growth.
You can give pediasure as it makes the milk calorie and nutrient rich.The teeth malformation may be due to calcium deficiency. Maintain proper hygiene of the mouth and teeth by encouraging him to brush his teeth at least twice a day and to rinse his mouth properly after having meals.
Due to inadequate nutritional intake these children are prone to deficient in iron(causing anemia),calcium and vit D content which are very important for proper growth.
I would like to get Hb(for anemia) along with iron profile(in case of anemia),serum calcium and Vit D level done to find out the deficiency if any.I would also like to get him clinically examined by a pediatrician to see the signs of anemia,for assessing the dental health and to rule out any other disorder(like cardiac although it is much less common) causing easy fatiguability.
In short encourage him for calorie rich food ,get him clinically evaluated by a pediatrician and get few tests done to rule out any deficiency.
I hope this answers your query.
I shall be glad to answer if you have any further query.
Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Pradeep Vitta
Answered by
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