Can anorexic children slow down brain development?

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1. Concept of anorexia in children

Anorexic child, also known as a lazy child, is a condition where the child eats with the number of meals and the quantity of food is not enough compared to the need. Children who are lazy to eat for a long time will affect their physical development and brain development, so they will be short, stunted, underweight and slower than other children of the same age.
Common manifestations of a lazy child are when the child eats less than usual, does not eat enough of the necessary nutrients, refuses to eat or eats for a long time but refuses to swallow, or runs away from the meal. vomited when he saw the food. Anorexia is a fairly common condition in children of all ages, especially children of weaning age and preschool age.
In Vietnam, the rate of anorexic children in the group of 1 to 6 years old accounts for nearly 50% and the majority of children show signs of anorexia from the time they are under 3 years old.
Children are anorexic due to many different reasons such as fear of eating due to being forced to eat; inadequate nutrition and cooking methods; get infections.... Sometimes the cause is simply because the child does not like a certain food or because of psychological reasons that cause the child to have a negative view of the food. Determining the exact cause of anorexia in children will help find the right and effective remedy.

2. Consequences of children being anorexic

2.1 Malnutrition

Anorexia causes children not to eat enough nutrients, not enough energy and imbalance of nutrients. Children with prolonged anorexia cannot develop properly in terms of weight, height and intelligence. Children will be malnourished, pale, weak, emaciated, and stunted than children of the same age.

2.2 Micronutrient deficiency leads to growth disorders

Children are in the period of brain and physical development, so their daily nutritional needs are very large. Children with anorexia will not provide enough micronutrients to meet the development needs of the body.
Common diseases caused by micronutrient deficiency such as iron deficiency anemia; rickets due to lack of calcium and vitamin D; numbness due to vitamin B1 deficiency; short children with retardation due to zinc deficiency; dry eyes , dry cornea due to vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness...

2.3 Mental retardation

Nutrition is one of the three main factors that determine a child's brain development (genes, nutrition, learning and training environment).
Anorexia will make children mentally retarded due to imbalance and lack of nutrients important for effective brain functioning such as: Protein, carbohydrates, fats, especially acids essential fatty acids and amino acids such as: Lysine, histidine, threonine, DHA, taurin, omega-3 and omega-6, ...
The lack of nutrients to nourish the brain to develop makes the body young or tired. , difficulty concentrating on studying, reduced ability to think and make decisions quickly and accurately. Children's mental retardation leading to reduced intelligence is the most serious consequence in children with anorexia, having direct and long-term effects on children's future future.
Studies around the world show that anorexia affects children's cognitive and learning abilities that can last up to 5 years later, reducing the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) compared to the next 5 years. with children with adequate nutrition.

2.4 Impaired immune system function

Nutritional deficiencies will cause weak resistance, impaired immune system function, so children are susceptible to respiratory and digestive tract infections such as pharyngitis, otitis media, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections. intestine ,...

2.5 Affecting emotions

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is considered a foundation to help children perfect their personality and skills necessary for life to succeed in the future. Children with high EQ will develop well the ability to express, communicate, get along with friends and adapt quickly to the change of living environment.
Meanwhile, children with anorexia often have low EQ, children tend to be irritable, passive, difficult to integrate into a solitary life, lack of friends... in the long run can lead to autism, depression, lack of concentration, poor study, difficult to achieve.

3. Measures to overcome the situation of anorexia children

Parents, please estimate the amount of calories needed in a day based on the nutrition pyramid for children to know how much food the child needs to consume in a day, avoid forcing the child to eat more than the need. Each child needs a different amount of calories depending on 3 factors: gender, age, and health status of the child. There are 10 measures to help overcome anorexia children, including:

3.1 Do not force children to eat when they do not want to eat because they only have the opposite effect

Measures to force children to eat such as: scolding, threatening, punishing even beating will create psychological stress and obsession at each meal, making the child's anorexia worse and worse. Do not force the child to eat in any way, including squeezing the child's mouth or forcing the child to put food in his mouth.
If parents want to practice introducing new foods to their children, they should be offered for breakfast. This is the time of day when babies are most hungry and may be ready to try new foods. When they are ready to eat, parents can bring the dish for lunch or dinner and make another new dish the next morning.

3.2 Meals must be varied, colorful and beautifully presented

In each meal, there should be at least one food that the child likes because this can stimulate the child's appetite. At the same time, parents should encourage their children to eat all the dishes on the table, even if they may only eat a little of each dish.
Food is processed in a variety of types, colors, flavors and beautifully presented, attracting children's attention.

3.3 Arrange meals on time and feed the child with the family

Let's create a habit from a young age for children that should not snack when it is close to the main meal, especially sweets, soft drinks, fast food.
Children's meals should be arranged reasonably at certain time frames. About 10–15 minutes before starting a meal.
Most young children like to imitate the actions of others. Therefore, parents should eat on time, let children eat meals with the family and eat while chatting happily to create an atmosphere of excitement and fun to help children eat more deliciously.

3.4 Divide the food of the day into several meals

Divide your child's daily food intake into several meals, feeding them little by little at each meal for a certain period of time. With that, even though the child can eat a small amount of food, he still does not lose weight.
Do not let children eat while playing with toys or watching TV, phones, and tablets.
Do not feed the baby for too long. The main meal should not last more than 30 minutes and the snack should not exceed 20 minutes, whether the baby eats too slowly or has not finished the food. After 30 minutes, stop the meal, wipe the child's mouth, and introduce the food to the next meal. This will form good eating habits, reduce pressure for children at each meal and reduce stress for parents.

3.5 Feed your child healthy snacks with healthy foods

Parents can give children snacks rich in vitamins and minerals at snacks such as: Milk, cheese, yogurt, fruit, cakes also help provide significant energy for children, but should not be close to the main meal.

3.6 Do not give children a lot of water before and during meals

Children drinking too much water, including milk or juice drinks, before and during meals will give them a false sense of fullness and loss of interest in eating. In addition, parents need to limit giving milk to children in the middle of the night because this will affect the next morning's breakfast.

3.7 Encourage children to go to the kitchen with their mothers

Encourage children to go to the kitchen with their mother and do simple things such as picking vegetables, washing vegetables, setting the table for the whole family. Children will love to eat their own dishes, so this stimulates them to eat more deliciously.

3.8 Ensure children's meals are full of nutrients

According to nutrition experts, anorexic children need a nutritious and adequate diet with 4 main groups: protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.
Besides, parents should also supplement groups of nutrients to help stimulate appetite and enhance absorption to catch up growth. In particular, parents need to focus on supplementing with nutrients to support the child's brain development, helping to avoid the unfortunate consequences of mental retardation and cognitive ability. Many studies have proven that zinc can stimulate appetite in children. Foods that contain zinc include chicken, beef, fish, and many dark green vegetables.

3.9 Let children be physically active

Physical inactivity can also make children anorexic. Parents should encourage their children to exercise every day. If possible, it is best to spend time with your child doing physical activities such as walking, jumping rope, soccer, playing catch, etc. Movement makes children consume a lot of energy, so they will feel hungry. more, help you eat better and have better health.
If the child is too young, parents should massage the child to help the digestive system work better, limit gastrointestinal diseases, and contribute to the child's health and good growth.

3.10 Nutrition examination for children

Nutrition examination for children is a necessary job in order to build a scientific nutrition regimen suitable for each child. Nutrition examination for children helps to accurately assess their physical and nutritional status; early detection of common nutritional diseases in children; well control factors that hinder a child's development to create a premise for a child's development in the future; guide to provide children with a reasonable, scientific and appropriate diet and exercise for their development at each time. It is important that parents do not arbitrarily give drugs to children without a doctor's prescription. Because it is necessary to find the right cause of anorexia in children in order to take the right medicine to work, otherwise it can make the child anorexic.
In addition, to improve taste, eat well, reach the correct height and weight, and exceed the standard, have a good immune system, strengthen the resistance to get sick less often and have less digestive problems... baby need to add necessary micronutrients: Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamins B1 and B6, ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C),...
Also according to leading nutrition experts recommend father Mothers need to be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow simultaneous use of many types or continuously change the types of functional foods. Besides, nutritionists also emphasize on the role of biological zinc; Parents should learn and supplement zinc for children properly at the appropriate time, to avoid zinc deficiency affecting the comprehensive development of children.
To have more knowledge about raising children and taking care of children by age, you should regularly visit the website https://vinmec.com and make an appointment with the leading doctors, pediatric experts - Nutrition when visiting the website https://vinmec.com need advice.