My child doesn’t eat well. How to ensure adequate nutrients for growth? - Dr. Sayed Mujahid Husain

Dr. Sayed Mujahid Husain
Consultant Pediatrician and Neonatologist

Goodwill Children's Clinic HSR Layout Bengaluru

Appointment booking number: 7406872211

We must understand that there is something called as a toddler age. The moment child crosses 1 year, upto 3 to 4 years is called as toddler age group. Now one of the hallmark features of toddler age is loss of appetite. There are multiple reasons for this their metabolism changes, their activity, their interest in food drops. So what is physiological loss of appetite and pathological loss of appetite ? Most of the children who don’t eat and have fussy eating habits, parents have to run around with a plate of food, is a physiological loss of appetite, in the sense they don’t have any metabolic issues, or major digestive issues or major hormonal imbalances. It is just because of the taste issue and age related issues or they are addicted to lot of junk or they don’t like the food, they are inclined towards one particular food. So if you understand your child’s eating pattern there might be something they are inclined towards. So there is selective loss of appetite, not a general loss of appetite. That means they want to eat something but other thing is they want to ignore. This is the scenario, there is nothing to panic as long as the child’s growth and development, anthropometric measurements, what we call it as, their height weight, everything is appropriate. Coming to pathological loss of appetite, what is that? A child has a certain metabolic disorders, absorption disorders, certain intestinal disorders, maybe worm infestations that you might have heard or anemia, this is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies. This also can lead to loss of appetite in the children. So this needs evaluation and intervention and treatment. Most of these children who have issue in feeding, most of them need counseling, understanding child’s behavior and in terms of basic guidance. Otherwise it can be very well managed.

Husain