To be worried about the lack of understanding around how many calories children need?

[MandalayFray]

I’ve seen a few posts over the last few weeks that have really concerned me around how adults, and parents at that, genuinely seem to have no idea how much food or how many calories the average child needs.

On the pizza thread the other day people were saying 2 slices of pizza and a few nuggets was more than enough for a teenage boy, that they couldn’t eat more than that as a grown woman.

Failing to understand that yes, because the average teenage boy need almost double the daily calories compared to an adult woman.

The average teen boy needs between 2,800-3,000 calories a day, moderately active ones 3,000-3,300 a day, very active ones 3,500-4,000. So no a 500 calorie dinner wouldn’t cut the mustard.

Same again today on a soup thread, apparently half a tin is MORE than enough for a child. The recommended calorie intake for a 4-5 year old is 1,400 calories! So no, a 200 calorie lunch is most definitely not ‘more’ than enough.

I know this site is known for ‘disordered’ eating posts at times but this is genuinely confusing me, do people not look into how many calories they should be feeding their kids as a baseline?

And yes before people start, I know they could be eating an entire pack of aunt Bessie’s pancakes for breakfast and a whole hog roast at tea, and yes I know your kids might be tube fed and need 5 calories a meal. But if we look at averages this doesn’t stack up with many posters views on here.

YANBU, there seems to be a lack of understanding about food and nutrition in general. I'm one of the posters who get labelled 'the protein police', because I don't think a portion of cheese sauce is enough protein.

With all things it's context.
So for example a large slice of dominos pizza is 280 calories, a McDonald's nugget is 53 calories.
So two slices and say four nuggets...is 772 calories which is about 1/3 of requirements for average 13 yr old
So a 13 yr old who does no sports, activities etc .and add in a drink, the ketchup etc then I think that is a pretty ok dinner.
Ditto soups ..can vary Heinz tomato soup 100 Cal's per half tin, a piece of toast ,buttered and your lunch is 250-300 calories. Add in juice or milk and maybe a yoghurt/frontage frais and that is 450-500 calories.
We would be well reminded to consider that 40% of 10-11yr olds are overweight or obese , 27% of reception age children...

So our perception of appropriate portions is definitely not always right

This place is full of orthorexia.

This place is also full of posters who are overweight or obese and trying to lose weight or worried about their obese children.

On that particular thread it was a small supermarket pizza, and frozen nuggets so the calories were calculated based off that.

People fail to see it’s what people eat more than how much that truly fuels the obesity crisis for children and young people.

Also true.

I think there is a misunderstanding between quality of food and quantity of food.

I would actually say the problem us the opposite, people seem to think kids need more food than they do. Teen boys do not need 3000 calories unless they are very active - there's a lot of overweight teens around.

Half a can of soap plus bread and butter is a perfectly decent lunch,

I thought this thread was going to be about the opposite pov. My DS is 4 and I regularly see v overweight children the same age as him. Though it might be more to do with the amount of snacks some children are given in one thread a 2 year old had eight snacks before lunch. We don't do any snacks except for drinks.

Except it’s a well known and understood fact that during the teen years due to excess growth and development teenagers need more calories than the average adult. The amounts listed for teen boys are indeed around the 3,000 mark for an average teen boy, extra would be suggested for very active ones.

Overweight kids around doesn’t make this less of a fact.

It’s posts like yours that are a great example of this in action though. There seems to be little education around what’s normal and not.

plus who said anything about bread and butter?

Yes I thought the thread was going to be the opposite as well.

A teenage boy needs 2800 calories a day.

Many of them eat much more. That's why they're overweight.

MN has a massive issue with mothers who have no understanding of adequate nutrition for children.

plus who said anything about bread and butter?

The tin of soup thread you mentioned has bread and butter in the OP as part of what the poster is considering to be a portion.

I'm more inclined towards this. If a child is overweight or obese and not active, then they'll need less but also need to eat healthier foods more often.

So you think it's better to keep a child underweight and malnourished @JamSandle?

This. The problem is that too many children eat processed food such as pizza and chicken nuggets. So much processed food is available now, it's hard to avoid it. But I hope home cooking will make a comeback.

The vast majority of teenagers are not overweight or obese. Feeding them all as though they were is mad.

Oh let's be honest, you don't see many underweight children compared to overweight. Why the dramatics?

On that particular thread it was a small supermarket pizza, and frozen nuggets so the calories were calculated based off that.

The problem, though, is this. Nuggets aren't a vegetable. People are posting that they eat lasagna and chips, nuggets and pizza, pizza and chips, not a vegetable, real protein or fruit in sight. You'd be better thinking about simple 'rules'. Never a meal or snack without some colour (fruit or vegetables), snacks are protein, fat and vitamins, empty carbs are rare, sugar makes you hungry so that's almost never a snack, breakfast cereals are crap (except porridge etc.), brown carbs.

Kids eat crappy, empty carbs, sugar and unhealthy fats, crave more, and round it goes.

What a strange thread given that child obesity is becoming worse and worse. Surely most children and adults are having far too many calories?

Just saying X age child needs Y calories is pretty meaningless

It also depends on

• their height/frame
• their metabolism
• their activity level
• whether they are still growing.

My 9yo Rugby playing daughter who is constantly bouncing around needs more than her elder sister (11yo), who is more sedate and calm. 11yo is taller, with her height in her legs) but 9yo is a lot stockier in frame (her shoulders and wider for example).

Parents need to be honest with themselves. They can be overweight and active. They can overeat. But they can need a lit, especially if they do sports... video games not so much.

Ive just learned a new word. thanks!

Exactly. The thread you are referring to mentioned half a tin of soup with bread and butter as being a meal. I was one of the posters that said I'd view that as a perfectly decent amount for a child. It's one meal in the context of a whole day of eating.

Honestly with the amount of overweight and obese children I see at school drop off I'd say the issue is the opposite and many parents feed their children way too much food. Although I think in many cases I'd agree it's the quality of the food that's an issue rather than strictly the quantity.

@Yellowdahlia12 I home cook from scratch 6-7 nights a week and I am seen as a minority amongst my peers. Shame really

Fascinated by the calorie count you mention for a teenage boy .. I wasn’t aware but was just effectively feeding my boys an extra lunch after their sports ! Now I know why