Teen boy diet

[Welwyncitydweller]

Hi all. My lad is 14, around 5ft 8 and weighs as much as a sparrow. His dad’s physique is extremely slim and he’s inherited that. He’s fit as a fiddle from biking. But, I imagined by now he’d be eating non stop but he’s not. He’s a veggie with a tree nut allergy. He seems to binge some days so on Sunday he ate a 500g pot of yoghurt, a ball of mozzarella with tomatoes, some veg sushi, a roast dinner with 3 quorn fillets and York puds and a large helping of chocolate later. Today he ate a choc croissant, a whole meal roll with quorn, fruit, quavers, a waffle, 2 snack mars, a bowl of steamed sugar snap peas and a bowl of raspberries and mango. Not enough cals in my view. Now I type, his diet is very random! I made him a quorn and veg stir fry this evening but he said he’ll eat it tomorrow (and he will). Should I be worried?

[Welwyncitydweller]

Ps he’s just had a fixed brace fitted so learning what works food wise too

[Fecks]

If he's healthy and not short of energy I guess he's getting enough calories. I agree though his diet is odd. Does he not eat meals with the family? Eating alone does enable unhealthy habits if he just grazes around when he feels hungry.
Maybe insist he eats with you and can then snack on top? I have one veggie DC and always cook him a veggie version of what we are having, or we all eat meat free.

[Evergreen777]

My DS is skinny and struggles to eat enough. Mostly he eats 3 regular meals with the family, and then also snacks 2-3 times a day on sandwiches.

Your DS's diet does sound odd. Like a series of snacks rather than proper meals. Do you mostly eat as a family? Or does he sort himself out? Maybe some easy ready meals would help? Getting into a routine of eating meals at roughly the same time each day is a good habit to develop

[MyBrilliantDisguise]

My son is very slim, too. When he was in his teens he used to have supper as well as an evening meal - that could be sandwiches, crisps, fruit and biscuits. This went on for a few years - he remained slim but shot up in height.

[PickAChew]

Teen boys seem to crave carbs above all else.