Why do children eat a lot without gaining weight?

The article was consulted professionally by Dr. Phan Nguyen Thanh Binh – Head of Nutrition – Dietitian – Pediatrics – Newborn Department, Share99 Central Park International Health Hub.

There are babies who eat less but are still fat, on the contrary, there are also many children who eat a lot without gaining weight. Parents need to know the exact reasons why their child does not eat weight gain to have an effective remedy.

Children who eat well but are still slow to grow can be caused by the following:

Children 6-24 months old, the size of the stomach is still small, it is not possible to digest large amounts in each meal, so it is necessary to design the number of meals and the number of each meal gradually increases with the age month to match the capacity of the child's stomach and meet the needs.

For example, children 6-8 months old should eat 2 additional meals per day, 100 – 150ml each; children from 9 to 11 months: 3 meals/day, 200ml each; children from 12 to 24 months: 3 meals/day, 250ml each. The main meals are usually flour, porridge, thickly cooked soups and a variety of foods full of 4 food groups. The demand for milk also varies depending on age and amount of food.

I think I eat a lot, but I don't actually have enough in terms of the amount required in each meal, or I don't eat enough meals in a day.

As a recommendation, we should eat 15-20 different foods a day to get enough nutrients. Most parents feed their babies according to their preferences, appetite without paying attention to the amount of food, the variety of food to ensure enough nutrients.

Even if you eat a lot in quantity but do not guarantee quality, your baby may still lack energy and nutrients. The most common is that additional meals are often deficient in grease that causes energy deficiency. Not only ensuring energy, fats also help absorb fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K). Lack of fat, the child will suffer from a lack of these vitamins that lead to stunted slow growth.

Put in the child's body the amount of food beyond the digestic capacity of the baby. Six-month-old babies start eating miles if they over-feed in terms of the number of meals (2 servings) and the amount of food (100ml), they will not have enough digestive yeast. This portion of food will not be able to absorb all into the body causing the baby to full or cause diarrhea that causes the baby to block the abdomen, ingestion, so he refuses to drink milk, digestive disorders and weight loss.

In each child's body, the ability to digest and absorb food is different, so it is possible that the child eats more than the child of the same age but is too much for the child. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the amount of food and the amount of milk so that the child has the right digestion and the child is best developed.

Some children have intestinal diseases, hepatic bile diseases, heredity, allergic diseases, food intolerance … limiting the ability to digest and absorb food.

Children suffer from a number of endormonal diseases such as: thyroid failure, resta gland dwarfism … are also major causes of delay.

Many mothers conceive of feeding their children many tonics to grow up quickly, the tonic here is protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, shrimp, eggs, milk … Overe feeding of protein makes the baby indgestion, reduces eating, reduces feeding. Eating a lot of protein also causes constipation to prevent children from absorbing food, increasing the burden on the baby's kidneys, moreover, protein is not a source of energy for children, wanting to gain weight children must eat enough sugar powder, fat, protein only provide 13-20% of the daily diet energy depending on the age.

In some cases, children have high basic transformations, consume a lot of energy, so eating a lot is still thin. Children who are too active to run and jump a lot also consume a lot of energy, so eating a lot still gain weight slowly.

This is also the cause of children eating a lot but slowly growing. Because the baby has been "pictured" by these intestinal parasites using nutrients from food. Mothers need to deworm their children periodically every 6 months from the age of 2 years.

This condition occurs when the child's digestive system lacks some digestive or digestive enzymes due to congenital or due to the use of antibiotics. This causes only a small amount of food to be converted into nutrients and energy that feed the body.

Here are the remedies for feeding children a lot but still skinny

• Proper nutrition : In mealsit is necessary to balance protein, sugar, fat and vegetable groups. Pay attention to the variety of foods and increase the amount of grease in the meal. Each cup of flour, porridge or rice of the child needs a tablespoon of oil or fat.
• Snack restrictions: It is not recommended to feed the baby between meals leading to peer-to-peer phenomena.
• Nutritional supplements from milk every day : Milkis one of the easiest sources of nutrition to absorb for babies. It is recommended to use more milks to help the baby gain weight well to increase the nutrients for the baby every day. Mothers should also pay attention to the baby's use in both quantity and quality. The demand for baby milk may vary from age to age.
• Supplements of functional foods: In addition to having a proper diet and being interested in using any milk for babies to gain weight mothers can also add probiotics from foods or supplements to increase the absorption of nutrition for babies. At the same time, it is also advisable for the baby to actively move because this is very good for the body and digestive system of the baby

In addition to the above causes, many children eat a lot but still do not grow up depending on other factors such as: Genetic factors, weight at birth of babies, premature babies, fetal malnutrition, children with diseases of conversion, end of end end of life or with high basic conversion levels, high energy consumption, so eating a lot is still thin.

If this condition does not improve, you should take your baby for a nutritional examination. The Pediatrics Department at Share99 is one of the few pediatric multidisciplinary hospitals with a full range of neuropsyhical, cardiovascular, digestive, nutritional, psychological, endocardic, hepatic and hepatic diseases to help quickly and promptly detect diseases during the examination. As a key area of Share99 Health System, Pediatrics always brings satisfaction to customers and is highly appreciated by industry experts with:

• Gathering a team of leading doctors in Pediatrics:including leading experts, highly specialized (professors, associate professors, doctors, masters), experienced, used to work at large hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108.. The doctors are well-trained, professional, mind-centered, knowledgeable about the child's psychology. In addition to domestic pediatricians, pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) always pioneering the application of the latest and most effective treatment regimens.
• Comprehensive services:In the field of Pediatrics, Share99 provides a chain of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatrics and Vaccines,… according to international standards to take care of your baby's health with parents from birth to adulthood
• Intensive techniques:Share99 has successfully implemented many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery – skull, hematoma stem cell transplantation in cancer treatment.
• Professional care:In addition to understanding the young psychology, Share99 also pay special attention to the children's play space, help them play comfortably and get acquainted with the hospital environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical examination and treatment.

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