How much should a 9 yr old be eating?

[joelallie]

I know it's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question but I am a bit concerned. My DS#1 eats huuuuge amounts of food. He has what most people would think of as an adult portion and most of the time eats it all and sometimes wants more. We eat a reasonably healthy balanced diet and I've always followed the rule that as long as they eat their main meals I don't mind about them having a small amount of 'junk' - ie crisps or chocolate biscuits. At bed time he is always hungry and often has crackers and cheese with an apple.

DS#1 is very tall and so far quite slim. He has phases when he puts on a bit round the middle but usually those disappear when he has a growth spurt.

I really have no major concerns about what he eats. What worries me is the amount. Is it normal in a 9 yr old? If he continues to eat this much as he gets older he will just put on excess weight. Do I need to start restricting food a little to get him into better habits? I am reluctant to do this as I think he needs it now but is he getting into bad habits? It seems so odd to be worrying about him eating too much of the right foods after years of worrying about my kids not eating meals and wanting to snack all the time!

Any advice or opinions welcome please!

Anyone?

My ds, also 9, eats quite a lot too. Like your ds he's slim and quite tall for his age. He eats three good sized meals a day (portion wise he eats about the same as me), plus snacks. We also eat pretty healthily and he's allowed 'junk' like biscuits and crisps, in moderation.

I don't worry about his eating habits at all - he's very active, eats well, and seems pretty healthy. I don't think you need to worry now about him putting on weight when he's older - to be honest, don't most adults have to watch what they eat far more than they did as children? It's one of the downsides of being a grown-up!

I think so long as your ds is not overweight (I would only intervene if he started to put on excess weight), then carry on as you are - he must need that amount of food so I would be led by him in this - especially as most of what he eats is healthy.

Why on earth would you restrict what he eats if he is not overweight. He obviously needs the food, otherwise his body would lay down extra fat.

As Joelallie says he will probably need to moderate his eating when he is an adult. In my admitedly limited experience of just pre-adolescent and adolescent boys thay eat ENORMOUS amounts. Your ds may well eat loads over the next few years and then settle down.

One thing that is a good idea though is to ensure he is active so that he makes this a habit that he carries into adulthood. Being active and excercing will do more for ensuring he doesn't put on weight as an adult than reducing the amount he eats now will.

sorry - meant to say 'as marthamoo says'

Thanks.

Marthamoo - your DS sounds very much like mine. Maybe it's just a 9 yr old boy thing. What seemed odd was his eating so much more than his friends even though until about 6 months ago he was just as abstemious.

Lazycow - I know it sounds daft. But I look at my older brother who put on weight when he was in his early teens - he went from being a stick insect to being really big. And he still has a tendency to be overweight now. Mum used to cook big meals and I tend to do the same if I'm not careful. Admittedly he wasn't at all active and my DS is. And adults often eat more than they need even if they are active....witness the number of overweight people regularly in my gym! But I will just watch his weight I suppose and see what happens.

Joelallie, you are not wrong to worry about what your son eats! All you have to do now that he eats more is make sure that he eats the correct food. Food with a low GL will make sure his blood sugar levels are healthy and don?t make him crave even more. Therefore make sure that when he snakes it is on healthy stuff where the GL of the food is low, this will cause him to feel satisfied for longer, refined foods like crisps and crackers have a very high GL and are not a good snack choice as it will actually cause him to eat even more. My son (11) and daughter (15) are very active and they eat alot but they don't eat junk, so they have never had a weight problem. It's all very well to say he is thin now, but eating the correct food affects not only their weight but their concentration and a load of other things.

madeliefe - Thanks for your response. I'm not concerned about the quality of the food he eats. As I say the bulk of his food is meat, fish, pasta, rice, veg, fruit and dairy. As far as I can see that is a balanced diet. But I do allow them some extras - as long as the basics have been eaten. I do appreciate the a diet high in sugars and additives will cause other problems than excess weight gain - but none of them have these foods in large quantities. I've been following a low-carb/low-GI regime for 2 years now and know what a difference it makes to me - I would never allow a diet that was full of highly processed foods for my children. It was simply the quantity that concerned me a little.

In that case let him eat!