How can I help my underweight kids gain weight

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Forum -> Children's Health

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amother

Wed, Jun 07 2023, 2:26 pm

My kids (ages 7 and 8) are very picky eaters and they are very skinny. My husband and I also have skinny frames, but I would still like to help them gain some weight. I'm worried they aren't getting the nutrients they need. Does anyone have advice on how I can sneak in nutrients? Or recipe suggestions for picky eaters? What about a kind of protein powder for kids that helps them gain weight?

amother

Topaz

Wed, Jun 07 2023, 2:46 pm

Nutrients and weight are two different things

If you want them to gain weight then you need to feed them more fat, ie put more oil in meat food or things like heavy cream in dairy.

If you think because they're picky they're not getting all the nutrients that they need, you need to sit down and figure out which ones and find foods they will eat to to replace them.

amother

Hydrangea

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 12:39 am

amother Topaz wrote:

This. Obviously not as good as getting nutrients from food, but you can also give them a multivitamin to make sure they’re getting enough vitamins

Goldie613

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 1:23 am

Your doctor can run tests to see what they are missing in terms of nutrients and then you can go from there.

I don't know if people still do this, but peanut butter used to be mentioned a lot for kids who needed to gain weight, especially as it's a fairly healthy option.

amother

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 1:31 am

amother Hydrangea wrote:

This. Obviously not as good as getting nutrients from food, but you can also give them a multivitamin to make sure they’re getting enough vitamins

Yes, they do take a multivitamin everyday but I'd like to help them eat more nutritious food and hopefully gain a little weight. I see their ribs Sad

amother

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 1:33 am

Goldie613 wrote:

Yeah, I read nut butters are a good way to help them gain but one child will not under any circumstances eat peanut butter even mixed in with a smoothie or in baked goods.

Goldie613

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 1:36 am

Have you discussed this concern with your doctor? Even if their weight is on the low side, if they are healthy overall your doctor might tell you they are ok "as is".

amother

Rainbow

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 1:39 am

amother OP wrote:

Yeah, I read nut butters are a good way to help them gain but one child will not under any circumstances eat peanut butter even mixed in with a smoothie or in baked goods.

Try other nut butters. Or just plain nuts. Full fat dairy is also good

amother

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 2:50 am

Does anyone have any kid-friendly recipe ideas for picky eaters that are nutritious?

amother

Vanilla

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 3:07 am

My kid isn't picky but doesn't eat enough. Super small for age so pediatrician said to drink pediasure drinks. Carnation breakfast essentials are cheaper and pediatrician loved that idea. Even better is that they come in multiple flavors- not just chocolate or vanilla but a strawberry, fruit loops, cookies and cream...
My kid did not like the powder (even though that's way cheaper! But more limited on flavors). But the liquid ones? Asks for a second.
Full of vitamins, calories and fat. Not the healthiest fats but better than nothing. Since no healthy fattening food works here.

Also try avocado. My kid refuses.

WitchKitty

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 3:11 am

My husband and son both need to gain weight. The dietitian we went to told me to add healthy fats to everything.
Eat avocado, techina, olives, sour cream, hard cheeses. Snack on nuts.
Pour extra oil on everything. Fry instead of bake. Whatever you fry, deep fry as much as possible (in healthy oils of course). Anything you give them to eat, drizzle some more oil before serving.

amother

Sapphire

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 5:25 am

amother Hydrangea wrote:

This. Obviously not as good as getting nutrients from food, but you can also give them a multivitamin to make sure they’re getting enough vitamins

That won't help them with macronutrients.

amother

Pearl

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 5:52 am

Do they just look skinny, or are they medically underweight?

Kids can be very skinny, while still being considered a healthy weight and not medically underweight.

For example, from age 20 onward, any BMI below 18.5 is underweight. At age 13 though, a 5'0 girl can actually weigh only 80 lbs, which gives her BMI 15.6, but that is still considered healthy and NOT medically underweight for her age, even though she'd look very skinny and you'd see ribs. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywei.....wp=80

If the children just look skinny but aren't medically underweight, I wouldn't do a thing to try to fatten them up.

amother

Holly

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 7:23 am

I was that underweight and probably undernourished kid. Mom didn't know much about nutrition. Thank G-d they didn't make an issue over it and give me an eating disorder. Now I'm middle aged and still have an enviable figure. I eat healthish, a variety of food and perfectly healthy. If it's not a medical problem, leave it alone.

Balabroomstick

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 10:01 am

Add mayonnaise to anything you can! Use full fat milk and creams, butter and full fat dairy products whenever possible.

amother

Nemesia

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 11:10 am

What are their go to foods? Can give you a clue as to what's causing the pickiness

Thiamine (vit b1), zinc and trace minerals can help with pickiness and increase appetite.

Digestive enzymes with meals can help them absorb nutrients

Mom's relating anecdotally that a humiv/fulvic supplement helped expand their kids palates

May be worthwhile to check for hidden tongue ties, restrictions like that can make it arduous for kids to eat

Maybe a gentle parasite cleanse like bioray happy

Check for celiac and allergies that may be causing malabsorption

devorah1231

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 1:05 pm

What do your kids eat for breakfast? Cereal with red milk, pancakes, eggs, are all good. If they don't like that, you can make breakfast cake with whole wheat and applesauce. You can private message me if you want a recipe we ate it when we were kids very happily.

Lunch I assume is mostly out of your hands.

When they get home, have them drink milk with a couple of tbsp of heavy cream. Add strawberry, chocolate, maple, or pancake syrup if they need that. If you have a plate of cut up vegetables on the table them may eat them but honestly if you look at the nutrients they aren't high in pepper and cucumbers. Maybe try watermelon or honeydew at least they hydrate...

In dinner, serve sauces maybe? Dipping is fun. Fry chicken, brown chopped meat in a pan and pour the fat into pasta or rice or whatever they eat for flavor and fat.

Chinese style chickens like sesame chicken, lo meins are popular. Pizza and sushi are actually fairly well rounded and popular 😁

amother

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 3:34 pm

amother Holly wrote:

Of course, I don't make them feel bad about how they look. I talk to them about how important it is to eat healthy and properly so that we have energy to play and learn, etc. I don't make a big deal about it in front of them - they don't know I'm asking on imamother Wink

amother

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 3:36 pm

amother Nemesia wrote:

Thank you I will look into these

amother

Thu, Jun 08 2023, 3:43 pm

devorah1231 wrote:

Thank you these are good ideas. They do like milk fortunately. I make their lunches every day. We live in Israel. They like pita sandwiches and I rotate between cucumbers/peppers/olives as a veggie and grapes/apples/cherries/melon whatever is in season for a fruit. They are pretty picky even with cakes. We need to work on breakfast. One eats cereal everyday and the other one eats tea biscuits.

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