Why does the child eat a lot

Contents

How much should a child eat at different ages
Causes of increased appetite in a child
Consequences of overeating in children
How to stabilize a child’s appetite
Popular questions and answers

Overeating is not only a physiological problem. Often there are also psychological reasons. In our material, read about what to do if the child eats too much

A lack of calories, like their excess, affects well-being, the state of the body and the amount of energy. In childhood, as in adults, nutrition to a large extent affects the quality of life and affects important physiological processes.

Overeating combined with a sedentary lifestyle can lead to obesity. WHO estimates that 30 million children are overweight and 15 million are obese, with girls being the most common (1).

The eating pattern is formed at an early age, and it is more difficult to change it over the years. Therefore, parents should pay attention to what and in what quantity their baby prefers to eat. Why does a child eat a lot and what to do about it? It will help to understand this problem. nutritionist, nutritionist and pediatric endocrinologist Maria Gerasimova.

How much should a child eat at different ages

Sufficient food helps the body to function normally. It is important that the diet is varied and rich in trace elements, minerals and vitamins. There should be three main meals and two snacks per day.

According to the recommendations of the Union of Pediatricians of Our Country (2), the daily amount of food for children varies depending on age.

From 1 to 1,5 years	1000-1200 gram
From 1,5 3 years up	1200-1500 gram

With age, not only the volume of food increases, but also the calorie content.

From 1 to 2 years	1200 kcal
From 2 3 years up	1400 kcal

At an early age, the need gradually increases not only for protein and energy, but also for essential vitamins and microelements, the most significant for growth processes and psychomotor development. The child’s diet should contain iodine, zinc, iron, calcium, vitamin D.

Causes of increased appetite in a child

Eating problems in a child can start at an early age. Overeating (eating in excess of the norm) in scientific language is called hyperrexia.

At the feeding stage, the infant’s appetite largely depends on how his gastrointestinal tract works. Digestive problems can provoke not only a decrease in appetite and refusal to eat, but also a desire to eat more.

Anemia can be a factor in overeating – a lack of hemoglobin, cells that can carry oxygen. Another common cause is high blood sugar: with diabetes, a child will have an irresistible desire to eat more. The lack of vitamins and minerals also affects the excessive intake of food: when they are not absorbed from food, the body begins to require more food.

Overeating may be due to the fact that parents initially choose the wrong type of food for the child or exceed the daily calorie intake. According to the Institute of Nutrition of the Academy of Medical Sciences, in Our Country 20% of children aged 12 to 24 months of life are overweight due to excessive consumption of carbohydrates, sugar and confectionery and insufficient consumption of meat, vegetables and fruits (3).

Psychological problems often lead to eating disorders. They can be encountered by both teenagers and young children. When parents regard any crying of a child as a result of hunger, when delicious food is the main source of pleasure in the family, the stereotype is fixed in the baby: “when I feel bad, I have to eat.” The basis of such disorders is serotonergic insufficiency (4). Later, the child develops a mechanism: when he feels bad psychologically or physically, he tries to eat more than the norm. This stimulates the production of serotonin, which is involved in the formation of satiety and emotional comfort. In addition, it is not uncommon for children to be rewarded for good behavior with sweets. This can also negatively affect eating habits.

How else can adults help a child eat too much?

– When a parent determines a portion for a child, makes them eat up, following the innate sense of hunger and satiety is violated. It also happens when food / sweets become a reward, or some kind of manipulation is used to make the child eat this or that food, says nutritionist, pediatric endocrinologist Maria Gerasimova. – As a result, the child eats more than he should and really needs. And not what I would like. Gradually, this habit is fixed and leads to the fact that the child chronically overeats. With age, this eating behavior persists. In addition, a child who grows up with this approach does not distinguish between physical hunger and psycho-emotional craving for food; more often than other children, he tends to seize stress with something tasty, he is poorly versed in his own taste preferences.

Sometimes children experience overeating due to the fact that they were previously restricted in their diet by their parents or they themselves ate significantly less. A strict diet without a prescription can cause you to overeat on a permanent basis in the future. A baby in the first years of life can overeat due to the fact that his mother followed a strict diet during pregnancy, limiting the intake of nutrients important for the body.

Let’s take a closer look at the main reasons that can lead to the fact that the child eats too much.

disease

The baby’s body can fail even in the first weeks of life. Overeating can be caused by:

diseases of the gastrointestinal tract,
diabetes,
hormone production problems
diseases of the nervous system.

Certain types of gastritis can lead to compulsive overeating. The child is tormented by sharp pains in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting, hyperacid gastritis is accompanied by sour eructation and heartburn (5). With such diseases, nutrients are not absorbed properly and the child eats more even when he feels unwell.

In this case, parents should contact a specialist, it is not worth solving the problem on their own.

Sometimes a child eats a lot in the presence of parasites that feed on particles of food consumed. In this case, the weight remains at the same level, but the appetite doubles.

A pathological desire to eat is one of the first signs of type 5 diabetes. The child is constantly tormented by the feeling of hunger, and the number of meals increases to 6-XNUMX. In this case, the weight may even decrease.

The doctor will determine the specific cause, he will also prescribe treatment in accordance with the diagnosis.

Imposed incentives

Sometimes a child begins to eat when faced with stimuli or signals from outside. For example, an association with the smell of some food may work. Or the kid was treated to a tasty treat for good behavior, despite the fact that the child has already had lunch. An unscheduled meal can also be “for the company.”

Difficulties with determining individual nutritional needs can occur at any age, but most often pass from early childhood into adolescence.

Eating as a reaction to external factors refers to eating disorders. This can also include overeating due to psycho-emotional discomfort, “jamming” of problems and excessive appetite due to restrictions.

Often, against the background of such overeating, weight gain occurs, which leads to severe emotional problems. A link has been proven: the higher the body mass index in children, the higher the level of depression (6).

Stress

Children in adolescence and adolescence are no less likely to experience stress than adults. The period of adaptation of the baby begins from the first days of life, it can be difficult for him because he does not feel an emotional connection with his parents or at the age of 3-4 years he cannot socialize. In adolescents, stress is more often associated with studies, relationships with peers, self-acceptance.

In such cases, “snacks” act as a sedative. The child produces endogenous endorphins in response to excessive production of the stress hormone cortisol. Because of this, the desire to eat more increases, but the cause of stress remains.

Consequences of overeating in children

If the child overeat once – it’s not scary. But the constant excess of the daily calorie intake and a sedentary lifestyle lead to consequences that affect the state of the body.

The most obvious is weight gain. If overeating occurs on an ongoing basis, it can lead to obesity. It, in turn, leads to cardiovascular diseases, type 7 diabetes mellitus, reproductive dysfunction, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and the digestive system (XNUMX). The diagnosis of “obesity” is made only by a doctor who will assess the child’s condition and build a treatment system.

Due to overeating, a child may face a number of psychological problems that are not easy to get rid of.

“Eating disorders are serious psychiatric illnesses that lead to physical health problems,” says nutritionist Maria Gerasimova. – These are the infamous anorexia (extreme self-restriction in food, which can lead to exhaustion and death), bulimia (overeating under stress and then self-cleansing from food by some means), obsessive-compulsive overeating (a way to cope with stress, anxiety and other factors). Psychiatrists, psychotherapists, medical specialists (if indicated) should work with such patients.

How to stabilize a child’s appetite

There are general recommendations that will help bring your appetite back to normal, as well as specific tips that will be effective for each age.

An important factor in the formation of eating behavior and an example for children is the eating habits of other family members, primarily parents (8). Already at the age of 2-3 years, the child pays attention to the habits of others and can adopt them. If it is customary in the family to eat at certain hours, the food is varied and rich in useful substances, it is enough to satisfy hunger, but not too much – then there should be no problems with overeating.

Parents usually monitor the nutrition of the baby, but with age, the child begins to independently form his own diet, adding “extra” calories in the form of fast carbohydrates and sugar. As an option, talk about the nutritional value of food, that it is important not only the quantity, but also the quality of food.

Maria Gerasimova highlights the main preventive measures for the formation of healthy eating behavior.

1. Develop stable harmonious eating habits within the family.

It is optimal to start even before conception: a varied diet of the mother contributes to the fact that the child subsequently chooses a varied and complete food.
Breast-feeding. Breastfeeding is a factor that contributes to the harmonious formation of eating behavior: it is more difficult to overfeed a child with a breast (in contrast to a mixture from a bottle).
Lure. Here everything is in the power of parents: you need to work with your anxiety as much as possible, transfer responsibility for your hunger and satiety to children. This is not always convenient for parents, but it is important from the point of view of the formation of harmonious eating behavior so that children do not overeat and follow the physical need.

2. If there is a tendency to obesity. It is important not to broadcast an assessment of appearance in the family, not to push the child to diets, not to work with specialists who advocate strict diets and urgent weight loss. In the future, these restrictions can also lead to eating disorders, the formation of various deviations in the child and dietary thinking.

3. Proper diet. It is recommended to monitor the number of meals. Basically, there should be three of them: breakfast, lunch and dinner. In some cases, children are suitable for fractional meals: the number of meals increases, and the portion size decreases. If you can’t do without snacks, make them healthy: a small portion of nuts, vegetables with greens, sugar-free bars with a “healthy” composition.

While eating, do not watch TV or scroll through the tape on the phone. Teach your child to concentrate on the process, to chew food thoroughly. Otherwise, it’s easy to overeat.

It is necessary to form the feeding behavior of the baby from birth. And at every age, use “tricks” to help avoid excessive calorie intake.

Up to 1 years

Most often, up to 6 months, the child is breastfed. After six months, they begin to introduce complementary foods. At this stage, it is important not to overfeed the baby, especially if the mother continues to breastfeed or formula at the same time.

Fruit and vegetable complementary foods are of great interest due to a wide range of flavors. This provides a variety of diets, and also affects the prospects for consumption of vegetables and fruits in the future. Research suggests that if your baby is eating fruits and vegetables by 6 months, they are less likely to turn up their noses at school age (9).

Up to a year, it is necessary to monitor the baby’s reaction to certain foods. You should not limit the child, but you should also introduce new products into the menu gradually, without overloading the small body. This also applies to the consistency of food: at 6-8 months it is better to make mashed potatoes, and after 8 months you can add food with pieces. Equally important is the portion size.

1-2 years

At this age, the child begins to choose those foods that he likes the most. Therefore, it is especially important to diversify the baby’s diet with the help of fermented milk products, meat and fish, fruits and vegetables.

After 12 months, the child’s gastrointestinal tract becomes accustomed to many foods that adults eat. Up to 2 years, the daily need for kilocalories is about 1200-1300. To prevent your child from overeating, you should not give him a lot of “liquid” calories, such as juices or liquid baby cereals. It is better to give preference to whole foods.

3-5 years

Young researchers aged 3 to 5 come to the kitchen not just to satisfy their hunger: for many it is a real ritual. It is important to encourage the child that he adheres to the norms of nutrition, does not lean on sweets and moves a lot.

The weight of a single portion in 3-5 years should be approximately 400-500 grams. Calorie content for a three-year-old child is 1550 kcal, for older children – 1950 kcal.

5-7 years

So that the child does not overeat, it is worth diversifying the menu. It is optimal to pre-paint it for a week and make preparations. When cooking, use natural products.

The child will stop reaching for sweets if meals are balanced in terms of the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. And don’t skip breakfast – it’s the main meal that helps set you up for a productive day.

Older than 7 years

The temptation to eat more sweets or have another snack increases as the child goes to school. It is more difficult for parents to control his nutrition, but it is possible.

Take care of snacks between lessons in advance by collecting a container with healthy “snacks”.

Do not scold the child if he began to bite, ate too much candy or ate too many pies. The best thing you can do is talk to him about it, find out the reason and try to help. Remind your child that food is meant to keep you healthy, improve your quality of life, and enjoy it.