Worried about my son's weight

BenEadir

Hi all,

My son is 11, 147cm tall but only 28kg in weight. This puts him below the lowest 1 percentile in his age appropriate BMI test and defines him as being medically underweight, see http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/ResultGraph.aspx?age=135&gender=1&ht=57.875&wt=61.75&method=0&dob=March%2003,%202001&dom=June%2008,%202012&inchtext=7/8&wttext=3/4&pagetype=graph#

He is very active sports wise, eats a healthy breakfast every morning (bowl of porridge + 2 poached eggs on toast) and has a pretty good diet the rest of the day with the odd snack but not much in the way of fizzy drinks or mars bars or anything. He might have popcorn or a nature valley bar for a snack.

My GP says 'he's grand' and will fill out in due course but he's been waking up with headaches for the last few weeks and a specialist paediatrician diagnosed low blood sugar as the most likely problem due to him being so skinny and being so active in the afternoons and evenings (at various sports training) that he's going to bed close to empty and depleting his blood sugar further during the night such that he wakes up almost with a 'craving' each morning. We're addressing this by re-jigging his dinner to after he trains and making sure there's a good bit of pasta included those evenings. This seems to be helping improve the headache situation but if part of the fundamental problem is the fact he is underweight shouldn't we be trying to build up his weight a bit and if so what foods would people here recommend we build into his diet?

Most people have the challenge of reducing their intake of calories but in this case I'd like to boost his intake. Any suggestions other than giving him a season ticket to McDonalds????

Ben

Oryx

Would he drink homemade fruit milkshakes? It was my mothers favorite trick to boost our diet. Another thing you could try is making sure he has a light supper before bed as well as an earlier dinner.

BenEadir

Good ideas Oryx, will try those.

_pure_mule_

could try giving him a multivitamin in the morning which would not affect his weight but would be good for his overall health and it would ensure he is getting all his essential minerals and vitamins. Again glucose tablets might not be a bad idea if he is feeling a bit tired or his energy is depleted after training. There just extra supplements he could take. In regards to his weight I'm no expert but I'd say maybe he might not be getting enough fats or carbs in his body. Like you said lorry the pasta into him, some starchy food too like potatoes amd plenty of meat and chicken. I know probably not the best advice but just a few suggestions:)

Oryx

Some more ideas:

Cut up fruit with yoghurt.
Mashed banana with sugar
Flapjacks
Custard & milk puddings

I'd be thinking along the lines of extra snacks and meals that are appealing so that it feels like a treat to him and not just 'more dinner'.

BenEadir

You're dead right there. Was thinking of introducing a 'fun' supper idea, basically let him east whatever he fancies (within reason) 30 minutes before bedtime. This could range from Milk and biscuits to cheese on toast or some instant noodles which he loves.

Appreciate the help Oryx.

Ben

InTheTrees

best of luck and I have no advice other than whatever you do keep his weight gain Healthy. If you know what I mean.

Dont fill him with pizza and McD's. He's really lucky to have the skinny metabolism, it'll be an asset in his life. So make sure he bulks up in a Healthy way.

BenEadir

InTheTrees, will do. Thankfully he doesn't have a sweet tooth and isn't a junk food junkie but I know that could change if I started feeding him that crap, which I won't.

Pure_Mule - Thanks for the feedback, good suggestions also. He does take a fish oil supplement so a multi vit wouldn't do any harm also.

Ben

InTheTrees

Oryx wrote: »

Would he drink homemade fruit milkshakes? It was my mothers favorite trick to boost our diet.

Thats a good idea.

rocky

Does he like Peanut butter? with bagels and jam and bananas.

Or in smoothies.

cynder

Can your son not have his dinner as normal and have 4 white toast with jam or butter before bed. This should keep his blood sugars up during the night and stop the craving in the morning.


If not white toast then other carbs, since your son is underweight you don't have to worry about how large the portion size is but don't make it too small.

DL Saint

Lots of Pasta, Oats, Bread, Rice, Chicken, Yogurts etc...
Maybe increase the portion size of his food or add in an extra meal.
A few good things that he could have as treats to help put on weight are Milkshakes, Rice Pudding, Ice Cream, Custard etc...

I also have a very fast metabolism and as I kid I was also very skinny it's a long road to putting on weight but it's worth it in the end.

Also if u are desperate going down the road of pizzas and processed foods it's not the worst way to go as his metabolism will be able to deal with it, it would help him put on a bit of weight but he wouldn't get fat, especially if he is as active with sports as u say he is. Trust me I know how difficult it is for people with a fast metabolism to put on fat, it just doesn't happen easily.

hope this helps.

_pure_mule_

BenThere wrote: »

InTheTrees, will do. Thankfully he doesn't have a sweet tooth and isn't a junk food junkie but I know that could change if I started feeding him that crap, which I won't.

Pure_Mule - Thanks for the feedback, good suggestions also. He does take a fish oil supplement so a multi vit wouldn't do any harm also.

Ben

No problem:)

rubadub

BenThere wrote: »

making sure there's a good bit of pasta included those evenings.

BenThere wrote: »

some instant noodles which he loves.

Pasta and noodles are pretty much the same thing, not saying they are good or bad, just very similar. A single pack of supernoodles can be up to 600kcal.

Peanut butter or just nuts will pack a huge amount of calories too.

Akrasia

Just relax a little. It seems like you're the one making food into such a big issue.

Make a variety of food available and encourage him to eat when hungry. There is nothing wrong with 'unhealthy' food every now and then.

kate.m

You could give him hot milk or hot chocolate before bed ? (I used full fat milk)
It's pretty filling

Hanley

rocky wrote: »

Does he like Peanut butter? with bagels and jam and bananas.

Or in smoothies.

This plus the homemade smoothies for sure

Lots of really really good advice in this thread!

BenEadir

Thanks all, some great ideas and support. Treated him to a McDonalds today and he had a cup of full fat milk and some biscuits before bed to fingers crossed we'll get him heading in the right direction weightwise.

Cheers,

Ben

RMD

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhiches on wholemeal bread. Tasty, calorie rich, source of both low and high GI carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. Plus due to it's lovely taste, it can be considered a "treat" type snack. The typical sandwhich contains approx 400 calories.

beks101

I'd say focus on the healthy, calorie-dense foods and avoid the junk, McDonalds and the like. They won't help his blood sugar levels at all and will leave him feeling lethargic.

Some ideas:

Banana with 1-2 tblsp. peanut butter. Incredibly tasty and a great snack.

Glass of full fat milk with whole wheat crackers or 2-3 digestive biscuits as a treat

Full fat yogurt with fruit and nuts

Bagel with cream cheese

Trail mix

Smoothies made with ff yogurt

Dark chocolate

Homemade banana bran muffins

Baked potato with full fat butter

BenEadir

beks101 wrote: »

I'd say focus on the healthy, calorie-dense foods and avoid the junk, McDonalds and the like. They won't help his blood sugar levels at all and will leave him feeling lethargic.

Agree 100%. Mickey D's will only ever be a rare 'treat' if you could even call it that. Having said that I sometimes bring him to McD's for breakfast if we are going to a sports event he is playing in. He loves a portion of their pancakes with two eggs. He eats the pancakes and eggs without syrup as he doesn't like sweet things that much and would have a carton of milk. That's not so bad for McD's food is it??

beks101 wrote: »

Banana with 1-2 tblsp. peanut butter. Incredibly tasty and a great snack.

How would you eat this? Just chop up the banana and use the peanut butter almost as a sauce to 'dip' the pieces of banana in

beks101 wrote: »

Glass of full fat milk with whole wheat crackers or 2-3 digestive biscuits as a treat

This is already a winner and popular as his late night snack/supper.

beks101 wrote: »

Full fat yogurt with fruit and nuts

Bagel with cream cheese

Trail mix

Smoothies made with ff yogurt

Dark chocolate

Homemade banana bran muffins

Baked potato with full fat butter

Can't see any of these working. He has a very plain palate unfortunately.

I'd love to find a smoothie recipe which incorporates a banana but doesn't end up tasting of banana as he really dislikes banana's

FYI when I was a nipper I too was a skinny milinks so my mother used to give me a morning drink made up of two raw eggs blended with an egg cup full of Ribena concentrate. Weirdly it actually tasted ok in a creamy Ribena milkshake kind of way

Thanks for all the help again. This is why I love Boards.ie

Ben

beks101

BenThere wrote: »

How would you eat this? Just chop up the banana and use the peanut butter almost as a sauce to 'dip' the pieces of banana in

Well personally I just chow right into the banana and eat it with peanut butter on a spoon...classy lady that I am It's my favourite post work-out snack and keeps me going for ages, from a weight perspective it's got the right combination of calories and healthy fats too.

Another winner is peanut butter on whole wheat toast with strawberry or raspberry jam, very tasty!

If he's not a big banana fan, then maybe only use a third or half a banana in a smoothie and load up with full fat yogurt, berries, peanut butter, orange juice, milk, whatever takes his fancy.

Another idea that occurred to me...what about getting into the tradition of having a 'healthy' fry up family breakfast, say on the weekend, a ritual that he might grow to look forward to - food being such a social event is something you could play to your advantage here. Throw a few sausages, turkey bacon, mushrooms under the grill on a lazy Sunday morning, a couple slices of whole wheat toast with butter, some boiled or scrambled eggs, some baked beans, orange juice, all the family around the table, bob's your uncle! Obviously you don't want to be doing this every morning, but once a week or so on a long term basis and it should make an impact on his weight.

Equally you could have a 'pancake' morning, replicate those McD treats he enjoys with a few healthy recipes made with whole wheat flour and eggs, add fruit like blueberries, maybe some yogurt, whatever he wants.

Other ideas might be string cheese as a snack, cheese 'toasties' - stick em under a George Foreman, always a favourite when I was a kid!

Best of luck!

BenEadir

Thanks Beks, more great ideas.

Ben

nikegame

Eat more and you can make some delicious food that he loves!But there is one kind of people that they are always thin no matter how many he eats.Hope your sun would not be in that people!

Thud

nikegame wrote: »

Eat more and you can make some delicious food that he loves!But there is one kind of people that they are always thin no matter how many he eats.Hope your sun would not be in that people!

Can anyone explain to me who/what these type of posts are? they happen every few weeks, post pointless half english babble, slightly related to the subject...is it a bot of some sort?

Stench Blossoms

Thud wrote: »

Can anyone explain to me who/what these type of posts are? they happen every few weeks, post pointless half english babble, slightly related to the subject...is it a bot of some sort?

English may not be their first language.

Thud

suppose it could be that be they rarely make any sense or engage in conversation. Was just wondering because they pop up every few weeks.

sorry for taking the thread off topic btw

rocky

Thud wrote: »

Can anyone explain to me who/what these type of posts are? they happen every few weeks, post pointless half english babble, slightly related to the subject...is it a bot of some sort?

Robert Jack, part deux.