18 year old constantly hungry

[CreativeBee]

I’m really worried about my 18 year old DS, he’s 5’9 and weighs 61kg.
He has ADHD and takes medication for this, although he’s taking a break from medication for a couple of weeks (he’s too wired otherwise and can’t relax). I’m worried because he’s constantly eating and what he eats doesn’t reflect any weight gain. Today he took a storage container (large) (not lunch box) full of tuna pasta and he’s just text to say can you put money on my account as I’m really hungry 😕. He normally takes 3 salami and mayo sandwiches but says he needs another because again it’s not filling him up. He’ll have cereal for breakfast and when he comes home he’ll have a snack (sandwich or noodles),protein shake, his dinner (cottage pie for example) and then have seconds or thirds. Yesterday he ate 3/4 of a family sized cottage pie 😧. Surely this isn’t normal. Am I getting worried for no reason?

Does he get a lot of exercise? I have an 18 year old DS, and he too can eat prodigiously without gaining weight, but not to the level of yours. Mine also rows crew four or five times a week, which burns a lot of calories.

I wouldn't be especially nervous, but you could ring your GP's office and have a word. There's a very remote possibility that he has an intestinal parasite like a tapeworm, but he's probably fine.

At that age I ate all the time and never put on weight.

Ds is only 9 but eats huge amounts of food when not on his medication, HUGE amounts. On his meds he eats like a very small bird. I checked with his consultant and was told perfectly normal .. and to fill him up ;)

Cereal is not a great breakfast at all, unless it's porridge. Too many sugars. Eggs, beans etc would be better. Or pasta!

At 9.6 stone (I'm old money) this obviously isn't a problem at the moment. Keep an eye perhaps but he's 18 - I thought eating is what boys do! . Instead of extras at dinner could you tempt him with some fruit, like a banana?

When my sister's three were 16, 17 and 18 they would toast a loaf and have 4 tins of beans with it as their snack after school, followed by their tea. If they're over at mine for tea I cook for the usual number or people then put another chicken plus at other bag of spuds to cover the teenagers. All healthy weights, just hungry. The eldest lost a significant amount of weight when he went to uni (needed to go to the gp over it)because he just wasn't eating enough when he had to go and actually buy the food for himself. Now they're just a tiny bit older they're back to being just normally gluttonous like the rest of us!

I have an 18 and 20 year old and they have been eating me out of house and home for the last few years .They are always hungry .One evening recently the then 17 year old ate 2kgs of roast turkey all by himself.500g of pasta would be enough for the two of them and that would be accompanied by some meat or veg. They do a lot of sport and are always on the go.Both not thin but very slim and strong and tall.

Teens are always hungry.
Ask gp about Impactof meds but dinner followed by late evening cereal is routine for teen d ds

I had a massive appetite as a teen - my DF constantly shouted at me for being greedy. I wasn't greedy at all, a slice of bread with a bit of butter when I came home from after-school dance classes was greed, according to him

I still have a large appetite, because I'm active - DH is shocked by the sheer amount of food I can put away. Being physically active makes you hungry.

Has his appetite increased since he came off his meds? ADHD meds can stunt growth, but kids often experience ‘catch up’ growth when they take a break from them (one of the reasons they suggest taking breaks).
Add that to the fact that teenagers generally eat tonnes and it sounds pretty normal to me.

He will be fuller for longer if he eats more proteins and fruit and veg. His diet seems to consist mostly of carbs which, at his age, he will digest very very quickly.

ADHD meds suppress appetite - if he's off them his appetite will be massive for a while, not a big deal (although they shouldn't make him feel wired if the dosage is right - maybe speak to your consultant - not the GP but a specialist about the meds?)

Wow 😮. I’m actually shocked at he amount of food some pp DC are eating but at least I know this is pretty normal for a teenager. He’s only been this hungry since being off his medication, I’m thinking now maybe it’s because I’m not used to him eating this much when he’s on his medication. He has been going for very long walks too so add that to being off medication and maybe burning more calories he’s trying to eat me out of house and Home 😂. Thank you all for the replies and putting my mind at rest, if his weight still doesn’t reflect the calories he’s eating I will get him to the doctors because first thing that went through my mind was tapeworm or overactive thyroid.
Thank you all again

Also Racecardriver any suggestions of what kind of protein lunches I could make him? I struggle with lunches for both my DC. I’m scared of giving them cold meat/chicken sandwiches because I’ve never known how to cook and store it before eating (if that makes sense?)

Teenage guys are legendary for the amount they can eat. He sounds tall and skinny? He will bulk out gradually at this age. Lots of protein to try to fill him up, lots of carbs for him to stuff his face with. Completely normal, honestly.

Doesn't the medication have appetite suppression as a side effect? (Depends which he's on, but I know some of the ADHD meds do) So this is probably just a teenager rediscovering his appetite.

Sounds completely normal. My 11 year old eats more than that in a day and no weight issues

Could he be growing?

When DS1 is on a growth spurt it's just phenomenal what he can eat: eggs, bacon, beans, sausage, toast for breakfast. Chicken in french bread with crisps, salad, fruit and biscuit at lunch, mid afternoon snack, 2-4 helpings of shepherd's pie for tea, cereal for supper. No exaggeration. He's rake thin.

Does he need deworming? Serious question. I dewormed my dc every 6 months irrespective of if it was necessary. As he's 18, I'd think his basic hygiene was ok, but I'd still deworm him.

Re storage for lunches this week I got 2 cooler Lynch boxes from lidl £6.99 and they have a gel pack in a box which I freeze overnight and put the packed lunch in the top box. Very happy with them. I have started to put bacon and sausage rolls with tomato sauce in them with some fruit.