Should I be worried?

[lovingmy2]

My DS is 5, he was a premmie weighing less than 2lb born so has always been a very slight build. I weighed him about 10 months ago (only because i was weighing myself and he too wanted to get on the scales) and he was 28lbs on the nail which i wasn't too concerned with at the time. I weighed him this morning as i was weighing myself and he is only 29lbs. I am now worried having only put on 1lb in all that time.

I checked the growth charts and he is barely registering on the scale.

I think he is a fairly good eater (will eat anything presented to him except tomatoes) but the more i think about his diet he loves the vegetables on his plate more than the other thngs and if he does leave anything it is generally the potato, meat, burger etc and the vegetables, salad are alays the first things to disappear.

As with most children he loves crisps, chocolate and cake and i never not let him have thee things but all in moderation.

I am just wondering really if this is normal weight gain and if not should i be worried and if anyone has any tips about how i could increase his weight or food intake.

Oh and he is very very active...swimming, football etc.

Thanks in advance and for getting to the end!

How tall is he? The weight to height ratio is the key. If he's short for his age then you can't expect him to weigh as much as someone the same age but more average height. As for weight-gain, some don't gain much at all for long periods of time... they might stretch out a little instead. You can often find chubby little 3 year-olds that weigh as much as skinny 5 year-olds.

In terms of diet, make sure he's not filling up on too much bulky/low-cal foods like vegetables and salad. Fill his plate so that there is more 'meat and potatoes' and less greenery. Add plenty of fat to his diet... olive oil, cream on fruit, butter, peanut butter. And don't be worried about overdoing it on cake or chocolate. Chocolate is actually a much more sensible food than it often gets credit for.

He is short for his age (smallest in class along with another little boy...also a premmie)...think about 100cm. Suppose i was just shocked having only put a pound on when he'd obviously grown in height. His friends seem to all weigh about 3 stone when i've asked their mums so he is a whole stone lighter.

I will try and increase the portion of potato and meat etc and decrease the size of veg portion. Although could prove difficult as he always asks for more veg and takes from mine and DH's plate as it is.

Should i maybe try giving him snacks of cheese etc inbetween mealtimes or will that stop him eating all his lunch and tea?

Children only have small stomachs so eating 'little and often' is a better strategy than piling up the dinner plate at mealtimes. If the snack is small but calorie-dense then that's ideal. So things like cheese, PB/Nutella on toast, milky drinks, chocolate, raisins, cakes ... they won't fill him up but he'll get useful energy and nutrition from them.

The other reason not to give him too much fruit/veg/salad is that if children's diets have too much fibre it can mean their food travels through their gut too quickly and they don't absorb all the goodness from their food. Things like peas and sweetcorn are good choices because they are quite starchy.

Thanks Chil. I think i will try and get him to eat little and often rather than 3 bigger meals and see if i can increase his weight a little that way.

Do you think he is too underweight?

Without knowing his height, I couldn't say

100cm and weighs 29lb

This is the NHS Choices healthy weight calculator You have to enter an accurate height and weight measurement for it to give the right information. If it turns out that his BMI is low and you're worried, then consider seeing your GP for advice.

Chil - that's interesting about not having too much fibre - is this why children shouldn't have too much wholemeal bread / pasta etc.
I am trying to get some weight onto my toddler without resorting to sugary things so watching this with interest.

He comes out as underweight according to those measurements and if I place his birthday mid 2005. However, if his weight were to increase by just 5 or 6lbs he would be classed as 'dead centre normal'.... so don't panic because there's not much in it. He's obviously healthy and with some attention to diet and more frequent meals I'm sure he'd gain the few lbs he needs.

@mrsjuan.... that's right. Adults need plenty of fibrous foods to maintain a healthy digestion plus they tend to be bulky and low-cal so it helps us maintain a healthy weight. In extreme cases children on very high fibre diets have been known to suffer from malnutrition. They need much higher amounts of fat in their diet for good brain development and, whilst they need fruit and vegetables, they need less fibre than an adult for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

Sugar has its place. It is a valuable source of energy after all and is useful in moderate amounts even though it doesn't provide much nourishment beyond that. As I said earlier, chocolate gets a bad rep ... if you had the choice of being stranded on a desert island with either a container of chocolate or one of ever-fresh bananas, the chocolate would actually keep you in better physical shape until rescue.

Just looked and it says he is underweight but only just so feel a little happier although would still like to increase his weight so will try the tips yo've suggested. Thanks.

Interesting about the fibre thing because DS loves his pasta and we do eat a pasta quite a lot.

Pasta's good.... Lob plenty of extra olive oil into any sauces and you can ramp up the calories nicely. Oily fish like salmon is excellent. Go to town on desserts... traditional things like rice-pudding are real rib-stickers. Good luck

My DS is low weight for his age and his favourite food is vegetables as well, especially cucumber, so I tend to include things like grated parmesan in with veggies or melted butter or home made salad dressings with olive oil. What about avocado? Will he eat that?

Have just popped a rice pudding in the oven! I also make her cereal etc. with gold top milk or add a bit of cream to it.

Loving - What about pastry for your DS? Croissants, cheese straws etc? Not too filling but pretty calorific.

never thought of avocado...will try. Thanks Kathyjelly. Funny my DS's favourite is cucumber too. Has cucumber sandwiches all the time.

thanks mrsjuan i need to think abit more outside the box about trying to give him higher calories in his snacks.