Ds very skinny - is there anything he can take?

[NeverTalksToStrangers2]

My eldest ds is 14, about 5ft 6 and has been very skinny since he was a baby.

He started out quite big (8lb 9oz) but was regularly sick as a baby (nothing serious, just bugs, especially when cutting teeth (which he did very rapidly)) so by the time he was 9 months he was very slight and that has just continued.

He used to be a light eater but in the past 10 years or so, definitely not. He would easily eat 3 plates of dinner every night. I've seen him have 5 burritos in a row (when I've only eaten one). He inhales food.

His dad has been slim his whole life (not as skinny as when we met, but still nowhere near a dad bod at 46) so I think it's genetic. His ability to eat whatever the feck he wants is the biggest reason I'm overweight. 🙄

Anyway, I know my son would love to be a bit heavier and stronger. It gets him down that his wee bro is more athletic and I know others make fun of him for it it. I try telling him that he'll likely never be overweight and that's a great thing, but it's not much consolation. Does anyone know of any supplements or things he can take that are suitable for teenagers? This is something I've researched a few times but I end up more confused.

He needs to do some weight-bearing exercise. And make sure he’s getting enough protein. I wouldn’t recommend any supplements, but he could have protein bars, shakes etc.

When my DS was in a similar situation, I used to give him complan as a breakfast shake alongside his cereal, toast etc. It's calorific and also assured me he was getting his vitamins etc.

My DS burns a lot of calories through his sport and is skinny and short so we are experts at getting calories into teenagers.

Porridge for breakfast with full fat milk and some peanut butter stirred in. Plus a boiled egg and wholemeal toast with real butter.

Lunch we don't really have any control over as eats at school.

After school pre training snack is 2 slices wholemeal toast with peanut butter and chocolate spread and a banana and a glass of whole milk

Post training snack some protein chocolate spread sandwiches.

Tea is anything with a protein and carbs and veggies. Followed by a protein yogurt and anything else he fancies for pudding.

Pre bed snack is either a bowl of rice and chicken or more porridge depending what he fancies.

Try to put cheese on as many meals as possible and use real butter for things like mash and whole milk for any sauces etc.

All the sports nutritionists DS has seen prefer them to get their protein etc from food rather than shakes etc.

We have drinks from the nutritionist to help my son gain weight, you can buy them over the counter but I assume it might be similar to protein shakes.

I’d start him on a weight bearing/strength based sport of some sort that he enjoys. Martial arts, swimming, wrestling, gymnastics, etc.
Once he is 16 some gyms allow a bit of weight training under supervision of a personal trainer. I had one and did weight training when I did cross country running and dance.

Eating food isn’t going to make someone more athletic or muscular.

But not having the building blocks in your body to grow muscle means you'll just wither away into nothing. Seriously, when I was in my late teens I got a job as a full-time sport instructor and I went from a size 8 to a size 4 in 2 months, and I was eating 5 meals a day. Without the food, the muscle/bulk doesn't come. That's why sports nutrition is such a big deal.

OP, Complan is a good idea to add in between meals. Aside from that, you could consider increasing his calorie density with more peanuts, peanut butter, bombay mix type foods or cheese and milky drinks.

If he's already skinny and starts exercising he isnt going to become muscular you need the calories there to develop the muscle. If he just wants to gain weight he needs the calories. If he wants to develop muscle he needs a lot more calories and to exercise (not cardio).

Is he skinny by today standards or 70s/80s standards? When we were at school, the fit boys (not rugby player types) - were lean and you could see their ribs. In fact back then it was known that you should be able to just make out the ribs - we've forgotten that!. There will be a lot of people who fancy him because that's his build (think Bowie, Roger Daltrey, Plant , Walken obvs etc). Not everybody likes chunkier boys!

Well yes, you need weight bearing exercise + food. I would have thought that it was obvious that a growing boy needs nutritious food too.

I was more adding on to the posts that were focussed only on feed him more food, list of high calorie stuff and yet more food with no mention of doing any weight bearing exercise at all.

Not exactly. You don’t need a lot more calories to gain muscle, you simply need a good % of those calories to be from protein.

I think even by 70s standards he would be skinny. If you massage his shoulders you feel bones. He definitely has some admirers though,(he's a gorgeous wee thing and such a sweetheart), just lacks confidence. Up until the last year he was pretty short too (he has recently shot up) but neither of us are tall (I'm 5ft 2) pso I'm not expecting him to grow much more height wise. You never know though.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

Unfortunately getting cheese or butter into him isn't easy as he thinks he doesn't like it (he'll happily eat pizza though and used to eat cheese non stop as a toddler).

He thinks he doesn't like nuts too, so peanut butter is probably out but the he loves oats so simple porridges so I'll get him some full fat milk.

Complan is definitely a good shout. And the protein spread.

He trains for his sport 2-3 times a week so he's getting plenty of exercise (but doesn't get picked to play very often unfortunately during actual competitive games).

How much does he weigh?
i think a lot of younger teenage boys are naturally skinny as they grow and then bulk out naturally as they go through puberty.
if he is actually underweight I’d get a referral to a dietitian

Cardio based sport and nothing else…that will make a person pretty skinny.

Good question. I'm not sure. He was seeing a pediatrician 3 years ago for a vomiting issue (that we put down to abdominal migraines) which he grew out of, but he was weighed at every appointment then.

I can't remember where he was centile wise at that stage but it was in the healthy range, just about (I was surprised they still used the chart for his age but they did).

I remember her being pleased that he had put on weight between 3 month appts but then she worked out that it was less than half an ounce, so that was short lived, lol.

I know people assume he's a tiny eater until they see him go. And then they think we're starving him at home. I suppose he must have gained a lot of weight recently because he's gotten so much taller. Maybe when he stops growing he'll naturally fill out, but I'm still not convinced of that because of his dad.

Sounds as though his energy is going into his height rather than muscle atm, which is what you want. The muscle will come once he has reached his height, some of the food suggestions on here are going to encourage him to lay down excess fat which is not a good idea. A good diet and exercise, which is what he is getting is going to give him the best chance of a strong body. I was watching the athletics last week, many of those athletes were as skinny as a skinny thing, but were strong, and clearly had muscle strength and stamina. Google pictures of the Norwegian middle distance runner Ingebritsen, he looks as though a strong wind would blow him over, no bulk to him at all.

My slim son eats protein yogurts after gym workouts and as snacks

Does he like avocado?

Protein shakes.
Meat, eggs, legumes, meat, meat, meat, meat, eggs, cheese, whole grains.

Weightlifting.

Also
Fish, natural peanut butter, quinoa...

He can do weights at the gym now. My DS goes to the gym 4/5 times a week at age 14 and does weights. It's really helped him develop muscle. Mine is still slim and couldn't physically eat as much as PP suggested with all those snacks and extra meals but he does try to eat as much as he can. Some kids are just slim and active though and as long as they eat more calories than they burn there isn't much you can do.

I have two sporty sons (16 & 20)who are always fiddling about with their macros etc. so I’ve had years of this. Both focus on protein as they actively want to build muscle. They weight train on top of their main sports.

Breakfast is often scrambled eggs on a bagel (you can get butter on the bagel and into the eggs) or protein pancakes with skyr and fruit.

Lunch could be a tuna mayo or chicken wrap with salad. Extra calories from the mayo and things like avocado

Dinner might be a chilli with mince and beans and lots of veg again extra calories can be added as sour cream, avocado and cheese (one of mine thinks he hates cheese too - it’s partly psychological as he eats pizza and has eaten things with cheese in without realising)

Snacks include nuts, peanut butter and apple, fruit, cereal, yoghurts and protein bars.

Get him involved in thinking about his nutrition. It’s much easier if it comes from them. The focus needs to be on nutrition not weight. My dc can tell me how many grams of protein they need per day for their body weight etc.

If he is trying to build muscle don’t rule out a few high calorie extras like chocolate and the odd biscuit. Mine deliberately eat more calories when bulking to gain muscle then cut back when they are done.

My DS was really skinny till he got to about 18, he started weight training but what seemed to start the change in him in the first instance was we went on holiday to America. We stayed in a hotel for a couple of weeks that was all you can eat and my God did he eat. Plus he stopped growing at around that age which was a relief as he is 6ft 5.

DS used to be like this. Now he's in his 20s he's finally filled out a bit.

Don't want to offend you but have you tested for any stomach parasites? DS contracted giardia at a scout camp and worms from kids at school. These contributed to his skinniness until we got them treated.

I used to make DS a milkshake every morning with a banana, full cream milk, a spoonful of nut butter and a bit of honey. He'd have this with a cheese, fried egg or PBJ bagel.

I'd also stir some single cream into soups or stews or curries or add sour cream on top of chilli or goulash.

Cake is one of the easiest ways to get loads of calories into someone. a single small slice is about 450 calories. I used to make cakes and brownies with almond flour and lots of eggs so they were fairly high protein. E.g. carrot or dutch apple cake with cream cheese frosting, or banana bread with pecans and dark choc chip, or coffee and walnut with walnuts blitzed and added to the main cake mix as well as on top, brownies with chopped nuts in. As long as there are loads of good things in there too, not just white flour and sugar, I don't think it's a bad snack after sport or a long day at school.

I don’t know if there’s much you can do other than making sure he has enough calcium and protein which I’m sure you do. Maybe get him a gym membership. He very well might broaden out over the next few years still. My son was like this till about 6 months ago and now his shoulders and chest have widened and he’s put on muscle. At least he will have a good runners physique either way

This is really interesting for me. My 12-year old DS sounds a similar build (not reaching 2nd centile for weight) as is my DH (6'3" & I think he has finally reached 11 stone at 46 years old).

Although autistic, DS will eat absolutely everything (favourite foods are mac & cheese, then snails) & is constantly eating, but like his dad, he just doesn't put on weight. We have been to various medical appointments throughout his life & it's been raised a couple of times, but once they see his dad they are happy with the situation. I would still love him to be a bit fuller though, he does look delicate (but is actually robust) & I worry what people think!