A skinny kid is just as much a worry to parents as an overweight one. Amazingly, in a world of obesity, I have more small and underweight children coming to my clinic than overweight kids!
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What’s going on with them?
In many cases, the skinny kids are the ones who have had ongoing gut issues including severe reflux and sore tummies. Many of them have poor appetites or are extremely fussy and only eat a handful of different foods. Some actually eat a lot, but still remain small and slight. This is often due to food allergies, gut inflammation or malabsorption of nutrients. In my clinic we can investigate the underlying causes of a reluctance to eat or failure to put on weight, as there are also often physical reasons for it. Here are some of the common nutrients that skinny kids tend to be low in:
- Zinc – One of the most important minerals in children’s growth. Zinc helps us make all our digestive juices, which help us to extract the all the goodness from the food we eat. It can also slow up childhood diarrhoea. When a child is low in zinc they tend to be a picky eater with a poor sense of taste and smell, and get full up really easily. Our bodies aren’t good at storing zinc, so we need to ensure our kids are eating enough zinc-rich foods. These include dark meats, seafood, pulses, nuts, dairy, squashes such as pumpkin, and sesame seeds.
- Iron – Another critical mineral for growing kids is iron. Iron deficiency is a common problem we see in clinic and when a child has low iron stores they can get sore tummies, feel sick and are often tire easily. Iron helps transport oxygen from the lungs to the brain and also helps muscles store and use oxygen, so it’s important for growth and development. Iron-rich foods include beef, pork, poultry, seafood, tofu, kidney beans, black beans, peas, dried fruits and leafy dark green veggies. Remember, to include foods rich in vitamin C alongside these, such as kiwi fruit, red peppers, and parsley, to help the body absorb iron.
- Iodine – Without enough iodine our metabolism slows up and this can affect thyroid function. A slow thyroid can affect a child’s growth and also hinder their brain development, so this is super important for a growing child. Foods rich in iodine include seaweed, fish, eggs and dairy products as well as some plant-based fortified “milks”. Dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan mums-to-be and little ones particularly need to ensure they are consuming iodine regularly.
Ensure meal times are calm and stress-free. Set the scene with familiar calming sounds and smells. You can consider reading a story, perhaps even rewarding mouthfuls with another line or page of the story. Even a favourite TV show can help, especially if you are able to turn it off when they stop eating (!!!)
2. Supersize it
Give them a bigger plate. The same amount of food on a larger plate looks less daunting. But you can also fill it with extra food. Step up to an adult size fork or spoon, so each mouthful is bigger.
3. Hide goodness in drinks
Try to include a glass of 100% fruit juice, smoothie or full-fat milk with every meal instead of water. Too much water just before a meal can temporarily fill them up, so be careful. If dairy is not well-tolerated then use almond milk, hemp milk, or coconut milk instead.
4. Add healthy fats
Add healthy fats from nuts and seeds to your child’s diet. If whole nuts are not digested very well or your child finds it difficult to chew or swallow nuts then grind them up in a food processor or buy ground almonds and blend into smoothies or thickies, or stir into porridge, cereal etc. Ground almonds are a delicious and nutritious addition to pancakes, biscuits and cakes. Nut butters, yoghurts and cream are filling and creamy, and can supercharge their calorie intake.
5. Use finer foods
Small grains like couscous or quinoa and angel hair pasta have less air in between, so you are going to get more of it on their plates without it looking like a lot.
6. Choose dark meats
Serve dark meat poultry instead of white. The dark meat has more fat and more iron.
7. Rely on oily fish
Give omega 3-rich oily fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel instead of white fish. This food is fab on so many levels.
8. Use fat to cook
Sauté and cook vegetables in things like olive oil, butter, ghee, goose fat, duck fat, lard, coconut oil, or coconut butter. Even with steamed vegetables, you can add butter at the end.
9. Prefer higher calorie vegetables
Starchy veggies such as sweet potatoes or butternut squash are more calorie-dense than leafy greens.
Get all this right and they’ll eat more and become more robust! Remember there can be a wide variety of reasons for fussy eating, poor appetite and sore tummies. At NatureDoc clinic, we can investigate the underlying causes of a reluctance to eat or failure to put on weight, as there are also often physical reasons for it. So contact us if you are concerned.
Updated from the originally published version of July 2015
Mtoto mwembamba huwa jambo la kuwahangaisha wazazi kama vile mtoto mwenye uzito kupita kiasi. Kwa kushangaza, katika ulimwengu wa unene kupita kiasi, nina watoto wadogo na wenye uzito mdogo zaidi wanaokuja kwenye kliniki yangu kuliko watoto wenye uzito kupita kiasi! Kupata yetu lovely Healthy Bites jarida kila wiki! Kila juma, utapata kichocheo cha ajabu, ncha muhimu ya afya, na kiungo cha kufurahisha kikapu chako cha ununuzi! Hatushiriki maelezo yako na mtu mwingine yeyote. Ni nini kinachotokea kwao? Katika watoto wadogo, kuna uwezekano mkubwa wa kuwa na matatizo ya utumbo, ikiwa ni pamoja na reflux kali na tumbo la kuumiza. Wengi wao hawana hamu ya kula au ni wenye kukata tamaa sana na hula vyakula vichache tu. Kwa kweli wengine hula sana, lakini bado wanabaki wadogo na wadogo. Mara nyingi hilo husababishwa na mzio wa chakula, uvimbe wa matumbo au kupungua kwa virutubisho. Katika kliniki yangu tunaweza kuchunguza sababu za msingi za kukosa hamu ya kula au kushindwa kuongeza uzito, kwani mara nyingi kuna sababu za kimwili pia. Hapa ni baadhi ya virutubisho vya kawaida kwamba watoto nyembamba huwa na chini katika: - Zinc <unk> Moja ya madini muhimu zaidi katika ukuaji wa watoto. Zinc husaidia kutengeneza maji ya tumbo, ambayo hutusaidia kupata faida kutoka kwa chakula tunachokula. Pia inaweza kupunguza kasi ya kuhara kwa watoto. Watoto wenye kiwango cha chini cha zinki huwa na hamu ya kula na hisi mbaya ya ladha na harufu, na hujaza kwa urahisi. Miili yetu si nzuri katika kuhifadhi zinki, hivyo tunahitaji kuhakikisha watoto wetu ni kula chakula cha kutosha zinki-tajiri. Hizi zinatia ndani nyama nyeusi, vyakula vya baharini, mboga, karanga, maziwa, squash kama vile pumpkin, na mbegu za sesame. - Chuma <unk> Madini mengine muhimu kwa ajili ya watoto wanaokua ni chuma. Upungufu wa chuma ni tatizo la kawaida tunaloona katika kliniki na wakati mtoto ana maduka ya chini ya chuma wanaweza kupata tumbo la kuumwa, kujisikia mgonjwa na mara nyingi huchoka kwa urahisi. Chuma husaidia kusafirisha oksijeni kutoka mapafu hadi ubongo na pia husaidia misuli kuhifadhi na kutumia oksijeni, kwa hivyo ni muhimu kwa ukuaji na maendeleo. Vyakula vyenye chuma vingi ni pamoja na nyama ya ng'ombe, ng'ombe, kuku, samaki, tofu, maharagwe, maharagwe nyeusi, maharagwe, matunda yaliyokaushwa na mboga zenye majani ya kijani kibichi. Kumbuka pia kula vyakula vyenye vitamini C kama kiwi, pilipili, na parsley ili mwili uweze kumeza madini. - Iodini <unk> Bila iodini ya kutosha kimetaboliki yetu hupungua na hilo laweza kuathiri utendaji wa tezi-kibofu. Ugonjwa wa tezi-kibofu unaweza kuathiri ukuaji wa mtoto na pia kuzuia ukuaji wa ubongo wao, kwa hivyo hii ni muhimu sana kwa mtoto anayekua. Vyakula vyenye iodini nyingi ni pamoja na mwani wa baharini, samaki, mayai na bidhaa za maziwa na pia baadhi ya "maziwa" yenye nguvu ya mimea. Kwa wale ambao hawajaanza kutumia maziwa, mboga na mboga, mama wa siku zijazo na watoto wadogo hasa wanahitaji kuhakikisha kwamba wanatumia iodini kwa ukawaida. Hakikisha kwamba wakati wa kula ni wa utulivu na usio na mkazo. Weka mandhari na sauti na harufu za kawaida zenye kutuliza. Unaweza kufikiria kusoma hadithi, labda hata kufurahisha vinywaji kwa mstari mwingine au ukurasa wa hadithi. Hata programu ya TV inayopendwa inaweza kusaidia, haswa ikiwa unaweza kuizima wanapoacha kula (!!!) 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Supersize ni kuwapa sahani kubwa zaidi. Kiasi hichohicho cha chakula kwenye sahani kubwa huonekana kuwa kisicho chenye kuogopesha. Lakini unaweza pia kuijaza kwa chakula cha ziada. Chukua fork au kijiko cha ukubwa wa mtu mzima, ili kila kinywa kiwe kikubwa zaidi. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Jitahidi kuingiza glasi ya 100% juisi ya matunda, smoothie au maziwa yenye mafuta kamili na kila mlo badala ya maji. Maji mengi kabla ya chakula yanaweza kuyajaza kwa muda, kwa hiyo uwe mwangalifu. Ikiwa maziwa hayawezi kuvumiliwa vizuri basi tumia maziwa ya almond, maziwa ya hemp, au maziwa ya kokoni badala yake. 4. Uwe na uhakika Ongeza mafuta yenye afya Ongeza mafuta yenye afya kutoka kwa karanga na mbegu kwenye mlo wa mtoto wako. Ikiwa karanga nzima hazijaribiwa vizuri au mtoto wako anapata shida kutafuna au kumeza karanga, basi uchunge katika processor ya chakula au ununue almond iliyopondwa na kuunganisha katika smoothies au thickie au kuunganisha kwenye porridge, nafaka, nk. Almonds iliyopondwa ni nyongeza nzuri na yenye lishe kwa pancakes, biskuti na keki. Nuts, yoghurt na cream ni kujaza na creamy, na inaweza supercharge ulaji wao wa kalori. 5. Uwe na mtazamo mzuri. Kwa sababu ya chakula cha kawaida, kama vile quinoa, couscous, na pasta ya nywele za malaika, unaweza kupata chakula kidogo cha chakula cha mchana. 6. Uwe na uhakika Chagua nyama nyeusi Tumia kuku wenye nyama nyeusi badala ya nyeupe. Nyama nyeusi ina mafuta mengi na chuma zaidi. 7. Uwe na mtazamo gani? Kwa mfano, kwa ajili ya samaki wenye mafuta, unaweza kutumia samaki wenye mafuta kama vile sardini, samaki wa samaki, na samaki wa samaki wa samaki. Chakula hiki ni fab katika ngazi nyingi sana. 8. Uwe na mtazamo gani? Kwa mfano, unaweza kutumia mafuta ya sauté na mboga za mboga katika mafuta ya mizeituni, siagi, ghee, mafuta ya goose, mafuta ya bata, mafuta ya kokoni, mafuta ya kokoni, au mafuta ya kokoni. Hata kwa mboga zilizokaangwa kwa mvuke, unaweza kuongeza siagi mwishoni. 9. (a) Kwa nini? Chagua mboga zenye kalori nyingi Mboga zenye wanga kama vile viazi vitamu au squash ya butternut zina kalori nyingi kuliko mboga zenye majani. Kufanya yote haya haki na wao <unk>ll kula zaidi na kuwa imara zaidi! Kumbuka kunaweza kuwa na sababu mbalimbali za kula kwa bidii, hamu ya kula isiyofaa na tumbo lenye maumivu. Katika kliniki ya NatureDoc, tunaweza kuchunguza sababu za msingi za kukosa hamu ya kula au kushindwa kuongeza uzito, kwani mara nyingi kuna sababu za kimwili pia. Kwa hiyo wasiliana nasi ikiwa una wasiwasi. Imeandikwa na kuchapishwa kwa mara ya kwanza mnamo Julai 2015.