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General health

Overeating in children

11 replies

SufferingInSilence · 04/09/2006 21:20

That's a call to mums with a child who wasn't able to regulate his appetite as a baby.
This is something rare but when ds1 was a baby - probably fom about 6 months old - he was one of these babies that didn't know when to stop eating. He would eat and eat until he made himself sick ... and would have carried on if we had offered him more food.
He didn't have any mechanism in his boddy to tell him when to stop and I am not convinced he has it now.
What is the experience of mums with children like this ? Have they learn to listen to their body or do you constantly check how much the are eating? A preview on what is ahead of me would be appreciated!

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Twiglett · 04/09/2006 21:21

have you a diagnosis .. there's a genetic condition that has this problem I believe

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chocybickie · 04/09/2006 21:27

err... they get big. i have to watch ds1 to make sure that when he asks for a biscuit he has A biscuit, not 20.
he will eat a massive plateful of food and then eat his brothers dinner (ds2 rarely eats more than a mouthful of a meal).
last summer he would sneak down at 1am to eat every pack of crisps we had, every biscuit, every bit of fruit... anything he could.
it is not as bad now as we can talk with him and he understands that he can't be hungry after a full meal.
he just doesn't feel grossly full like everyone else, he doesn't feel that.

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Mum2FunkyDude · 04/09/2006 21:28

Oh Dear, sorry I do not have advice but I think there is genetic disorder called hyperphagia that means there is a problem with insulin regulation in the body. The body never receives the message that the stomach is full.

I do hope you get your answers.

HTH

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cornishpasty · 04/09/2006 21:31

Prada-Willi syndrome is the condition i think.

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SufferingInSilence · 05/09/2006 13:31

Thnaks all for your answers.
I never though that there was a condition for that. TBH, I was more hoping that with time he would actually learn better when he is full and when he isn't. So no, no formal diagnosis because I have looked for one.
chocybickie, I can relate with what you said expect that he has never woken up to eat like your ds. And my worry is that he will be become big as almost everyone in my family is obese and I struggle to be just overweight
How do you teach your son that he doesn't need to eat between meals ?

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SufferingInSilence · 05/09/2006 15:41

Have looked at this genetic disorder and tanksfully it doesn't apply to ds!!! .
I know that some babies are like this wo having any specific medical condition. It's how they actually grow up that I would be interrested in.

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SufferingInSilence · 06/09/2006 13:35

bump

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Twiglett · 06/09/2006 13:41

SufferinginSilence I think you need to approach your GP

I wonder if rather than your child having a problem .. the problem is in your own relationship with food .. if you and all your family are obese then it would be virtually impossible for you to have a healthy relationship with food which would lead you to believe that your child's natural eating pattern is incorrect too

you need nutritional help and advice and possibly counselling

one thing that stands out to me is that it is NORMAL for children to NEED to eat between
meals .. snacking can be good

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SufferingInSilence · 06/09/2006 15:27

Sorry, I think I haven't made myself very clear. It is sometimes diffcult to explain what is really the problem.
I don't think I have a problem with food. More that there is a predisposition in the family to be 'big' and that most of them are just eating too much. I am overweight because I snack too much but unlike most women in the UK, I am not a diet and never been.
My problem is different : how can I know if my child is really hungry when I am not confident that he is able to limit his food intake by himself ? Or is he now because he wasn't when he was baby and therefore have been flirting with the 99 centile since he was 6 months old and on solids.
Twiglett, thanks for the advice anyway. I will have a chat with my GP next time I see him for ds1 exzema.
Is there anyone here whose baby ate so much they made themself sick???

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Twiglett · 06/09/2006 16:06

he was on the 99th centile as a baby .. for height or weight or both ?

it is obviously impossible for anyone to be right over the internet .. but really if you feel there is an issue with him not getting the signals that he's full you really need a professional assesment .. because you are making a determination on another human beings hunger levels .. how can you possibly do that accurately especially when you are wrapped in your love for him and you want to protect him from a family predisposition to overeat?

I am not for a minute saying you don't know your own child, who could know him better? But I see alarm bells in your postings ..

please do consult your GP or HV

how old is your child now?

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SufferingInSilence · 06/09/2006 16:18

ds1 is 3yo and I agree it is v difficult to know if he is hungry or not when he is asking for food.
He was and still is the only baby that I know of who was able to eat up to the point of being sick . That was when, after starting to wean, I was offering him food until he said 'No enough' but it didn't always happen. So Istarted to judge by myself wheter that was enough or not - I had too. The girls at nursery made the same comment 'He is REALLY eating a lot' and were making bigger portion especially for him....
Re the centile, he was on the 99 centile for weight but around the 75 centile for height which made him on the top of the 'normal range' chart if you use the bmi charts (I used the french ones but there is almost the same in canada) so he isn't a slim child. I know I haven't underfeed him but I would like to know whether I can trust his instincts or not.
Strange isn't it when a lot of parents are worried because their child is NOT eating....