Avoid anorexia for children: What should parents do?

The article was professionally consulted by Dr., Doctor Phan Nguyen Thanh Binh - Head of the Department of Nutrition - Dietetics - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

Anorexia children are one of the very headache problems of parents today because it brings many consequences that affect the normal development of children such as stunting, impaired immune system, etc. growth retardation, lack of minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron, vitamins A, C, D, ... Most of children's malnutrition is caused by anorexia in children. Wanting to get rid of anorexia nervosa in children, requires parents to have understanding as well as perseverance in taking care of children.

There are many causes of anorexia in children, including:
Due to lack of nutrients from the time of pregnancy: The mother during pregnancy lacks substances such as calcium, iron, zinc, essential vitamins, .. . will cause the fetus to be deficient in nutrients and malnourished. As a result, babies born prematurely and underweight lead to lazy to breastfeed right from the first months after birth. Babies born naturally and with enough weight may be lazy to breastfeed, stop breastfeeding, or are eating formula milk naturally, reducing their intake or giving up formula altogether. Giving children complementary foods too early, an unbalanced diet with a lot of starch is also one of the reasons why children anorexic. Usually, the first few weeks of supplementing, children feel very appetizing, then they eat less due to the lack of vitamin B group (especially vitamin B1), iron, zinc, and magnesium. Due to physiological changes in children: When entering stages such as knowing how to turn over, sitting, crawling, walking, learning to talk,... children often lose their appetite. Even when healthy, children have periods when they eat less for a few days or weeks and still play normally. Those are the times when children are so busy exploring their body's abilities, learning and practicing new skills that they don't pay attention to eating. This stage is common in children 3 - 4 months, 9 - 12 months, 16 - 18 months, ... After that, children will return to eating and drinking normally. Unsuitable food is also one of the causes of anorexia in children. Children with pathological anorexia: When children have some diseases such as digestive disorders, infections, .. can make children anorexic.

When children have tonsillitis, teething, thrush, gum abscess or inflammation of the salivary glands, they will find it difficult to chew and swallow something, thus leading to anorexia in children. Digestive disorders: When children have digestive disorders, they often have symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting or constipation,... all of which make them lazy to eat and slow to grow. It is a sign of disordered contractions, gastric secretion or intestinal dysbiosis. Infections: Compared with adults, children's immune systems are very immature, so they do not have many defense mechanisms against pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Therefore, children are very susceptible to cough, fever, fatigue, ... due to infections of the respiratory tract (pneumonia) or digestive system (gastritis, enteritis,...). When children are infected, the content of vitamins and minerals is greatly lost, especially vitamin A, vitamins of group B, vitamin C, iron, zinc, magnesium, etc., making them lazy to eat or not want to eat. In addition, children with bacterial infections often take antibiotics, which can easily lead to intestinal disorders, causing abdominal distension, indigestion and loss of appetite. Parasitic infections: Worms, flukes also cause anorexia in children.

Children are considered anorexic when they have more than 2 of the following symptoms:
Refuse to eat all the portion or the meal usually lasts more than 30 minutes. Eat less than 1/2 the portion size for your age. Hold food in your mouth for a long time and refuse to swallow. Refusing to eat, running away or crying at the sight of food. Have a nauseating reaction to the sight of food. No weight gain for 3 consecutive months.

Many parents think that letting their children go out to play, watching TV while eating is to create a happy and exciting atmosphere for children, to help them have a delicious meal, but that only distracts the child. At meals, making children feel that the meal is not important, and the food left for a long time will be cold, degenerate, easy to breed harmful bacteria for the child's intestinal tract. Therefore, to avoid anorexia for children, parents need to:
Parents need to help children accept new foods - nutritious foods that the family wants to add to their children. Present the new food in front of the child's eyes in an eye-catching way, then the child's parents will model and encourage the child to touch the food starting from the finger up to the palm - arm - shoulder - cheek - pulse around the mouth. If the child tolerates or shows interest in the above activities, it means that the new food has gradually come closer to the child's mouth, but should not be rushed into the child's mouth but must let the child experience more about it. Taste the food by smelling, tasting and by this time the child will find it easy to eat them. Let the children eat with the family meal tray so that the children know the family atmosphere and the time when eating.

If possible, let the children scoop their own meals, don't be afraid to clean up the spilled food, this will help them be clever and choose their favorite foods. A child's meal is about 30 minutes, if the child hasn't finished eating within 30 minutes, clean it all up. Extending the meal time or increasing the number of meals a day only makes children feel afraid and bored, children will find ways to protest against meals such as crying, running away, vomiting, holding food in their mouths. ,... Children can eat according to their needs: That is, they eat just enough food that the child's stomach can accept. Never force a child to stop eating, never be afraid of a hungry child because when hungry, the child will ask for food, that is human survival instinct. Let children remind themselves about their meal times, children will learn to eat in moderation. Do not let children eat or drink anything (except cooked water) such as cake, candy, cheese, drink milk, ... 1 hour before meals. Because that much also fills the child's stomach and does not eat the main meal. If the child cries or asks, try to ignore it and ignore it, gradually the child will learn the habit, and at mealtimes, the child will eat more deliciously. If you want to give your child milk or eat some fruit, parents should give it to the child right after the child's main meal. Arrange snacks and meals with a reasonable amount of time so that your child has time to digest the food. Parents and caregivers need to be persistent when feeding children, not scolding children to create a stressful atmosphere, when children refuse to eat and drink. It is not natural that children have anorexia, refuse to eat and sometimes cry when it is time to eat. Therefore, parents need to observe and find out the reason why your child has such expressions, thereby offering the best solution so that your child can be happy and excited when it's time to eat. food, helping children to develop comprehensively both physically and mentally. In the case of children with prolonged anorexia, malabsorption, and growth retardation, parents should supplement children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins. help meet the nutritional needs of children. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well. Parents can simultaneously apply dietary supplements and functional foods derived from nature for easy absorption. The most important thing is that improving your baby's symptoms often takes a long time. Combining many types of functional foods at the same time or changing many types in a short time can make the baby's digestive system unable to adapt and completely not good. Therefore, parents must be really patient with their children and regularly visit the website vimec.com to update useful baby care information.

Article referenced source: National Institute of Nutrition