17 year old with no appetite

[Roundaboot]

Does anyone else's teenager NOT eat them out of house and home?!
I'm getting increasingly worried about DS (17) and his lack of eating. He's always been a "good" water in the sense that he'd eat most things. Like any child, he's gone through phases of eating more and then less, probably coinciding with growth spurts. He's never been a massive snacker though, never one to come home from school and declare he's starved and raid the fridge etc
Recently however he seems to be eating less and less and I feel like I constantly have to remind him to eat. Today, for example, he had a bowl of cereal and some fruit for breakfast. He made himself a ham and cheese sandwich to take to school for lunch and I gave him a pot of nuts and dried fruit too. He went into town shopping after school, came home and said he was going straight back out to meet friends at the park so I asked if he'd eaten and he said he'd had half his sandwich so I made him eat the other half before he went out. The nuts and dried fruit are untouched. Waiting for him to come back to cook dinner, of which he will probably eat a reasonable portion and decline seconds or pudding. It just seems so little food for an active, nearly 6 foot, nearly fully grown man!
He does say he's got no appetite and recently went to the doctor as he had other symptoms like headaches and dizziness. He had a blood test which came back clear. I'm fairly sure the headaches and dizziness are probably caused by not eating enough but wi send him back to the doctor for a follow up.

Am I right to worry? I don't want to nag him to eat and make it a big issue, but equality I feel like if I didn't remind him to eat he just wouldn't. Or is he just growing into a person with a light appetite? He does enjoy his food and like any teenager will overindulge in junk food occasionally but thinking about it, I haven't even seen him doing that for a while 😪

How is his weight? What’s worrying you? That’s it’s illness or an eating disorder?

Does he look healthy? Is he losing weight?

Ds 18 is quite similar but never been a big eater and was under the hospital when younger. He hates feeling full and although he takes more pleasure in food now he still really eats for fuel. He does elite sport so does now take on board that he does need food if so active. He is now 6ft 4. I think if your ds is losing weight and looking skinny then worth making sure what he eats is high calorie and nutritious. If they are busy it is easy to forget to eat so have stuff in he can grab and go with.

He's slim. Tall and lanky! But he doesn't look skinny and he looks quite well in himself, good colour, healthy skin etc.

I'm worried about illness, not an eating disorder. He doesn't seem to have a problem with food - just no appetite.

He talked about it more over dinner as I'd asked him to book another appointment with the GP. He said he just doesn't feel hungry at all at the moment. He said he enjoyed his dinner and he ate the whole plateful but he also said he'd have been perfectly fine not to eat it. He is worried about it himself as he recognises it's a change. The house is full of nutritious things he could grab as a quick snack - cheese and crackers, fruit, dried fruit and nuts are always available and we often have things like cereal bars and other snacks in too (though I try to limit the amount we have in the house as I WFH often and will eat more crisps and biscuits than I should if they are around!). But at the moment he doesn't have any interest unless it's literally put in front of him.

Anyway, it was good to talk to him properly over dinner and I told him that it's important to keep eating regularly as that may stimulate his appetite. And he will be going back to the GP for another checkup

I can always tell when my DD hasn't taken her antihistamines as her lack of appetite is one of her main symptoms, then itchy eyes, then sneezing/nose bleeds.

You could try him on some otc ones for a week to see if his appetite comes back.

Thank you. He does get hayfever actually but is not regularly taking antihistamine. It's worth giving it a try for a week!

Has his iron levels been checked?

Has he been checked for food allegies? Maybe an some kind of a food allergy has developed. Is he sleeping? Sometimes kids dont go to bed when parents think and being exhausted can have a knock on effect on appetite.. could it be sleep related at all? Hope you get to bottom of it. Maybe he has a little virus? Maybe something is making him nauseous. Could he get his urine checked when at gp next if bloods were done recently.. just to check something!

@DreamyLilacJoker Not sure about iron levels. Like I said, he had a blood test which came back clear but I don't know what they would have been looking for and if things like iron or vitamin deficiency would have been checked. I keep on at him to go back to the GP and ask what the blood test covered and what else could be looked at but he's not made an appointment yet.
In the meantime I've got him some good quality multi-vitamins and he's been good about taking those everyday. He has been saying that he's hungry more over the past few days and definitely taking more enjoyment in eating, so maybe it was a mild deficiency or hayfever or lack of sleep or some other teenage thing that's sorting itself out!

He has been saying that he's hungry more over the past few days and definitely taking more enjoyment in eating

That's good news (and I bet it's a massive relief for you too), but definitely keep a quiet eye on his eating and antihistamines in future. My DD never notices until I point it out and she's an adult. How can you not notice you haven't eaten in three days!!! 🤔🙄

Would he have a protein shake? Muller ones are a bit like milkshake. Extra calories and protein.
Maybe he’s been stressed and not recognised it. Or in love?!

If he’s 17 you might need to take a closer look at his blood test results yourself if he’s ok with it.

@Jellymoon1 I think stress is at least part of it. He's opened up more recently about struggles with anxiety. So, we're looking into some counselling for him. I think talkng to someone would really help.
@24Dogcuddler Protein shakes are a great idea, thanks! I'll get a few in the fridge.