Should I be worried about my 4 (nearly 5) year old's barrel belly?

[Jjcrackers]

My DS has a very big belly but skinny arms and legs. He starts off the day with a little paunch and then by the end of the day he he has an enormous belly that looks like a barrel.

He does have low muscle tone and perhaps that contributes but I don't want to make excuses if I should actually be cutting back on food.

It doesn't sound like a weight problem at all- you should prob explain it to G.P. In case it's fluid collecting for some reason.

Could he be intolerant to wheat/gluten? This can give a pot belly.

I don't think it's a weight issue.

Ah poor thing. I don't think its the quantity of food because you say his limbs are skinny but it might be the type of food. Does he have a lot of wind? Pale stools? It could be malabsorption. I'd take him to the doctors and see if he might benefit from cutting out processed foods, lactose (and) or wheat (on doctors advice of course!). There are plenty of alternatives these days to ensure his diet is healthy.

My dd used to have this. You could see her ribs and shoulder blades and had really skinny arms but her tummy would always look bloated. Went away when we cut out dairy to help her eczema. She's not intolerant to it though luckily.

I'd suspect a wheat/gluten/dairy intolerence or something causing gas and bloating.

Thank you all. I will take him to the drs to get checked out