How to know exactly if the child has anorexia or not?

This is an automatically translated article.

1. Current status of anorexic children

Anorexia is defined as when a child eats less than usual, does not eat enough nutrients, refuses to eat or eats for a long time, runs away or vomits at the sight of food. eat. Anorexia is a fairly common condition in children of all ages, especially children of weaning age, preschool age.
According to a survey from the Vietnam National Institute of Nutrition, the rate of anorexia children is about 45.9 - 57.7%. This is a really alarming number because the child's anorexia status, if prolonged, will affect the comprehensive development of the child, leading to many serious consequences. The rate of anorexia in the group of children from 1 to 3 years old can be up to 30-40% due to many different reasons such as: fear of eating due to being forced to eat, improper nutrition and cooking methods, infections...
Anorexia rate is higher in girls than boys. Anorexic children have a higher risk of growth retardation than children of the same age, which can lead to stunting and malnutrition in children. Moreover, children with anorexia are also prone to health problems such as digestive disorders, malabsorption syndromes, anemia, hormone imbalance and reduced bone growth.

2. Anorexia conditions in children

2.1 Physiological anorexia

Usually occurs at the time of teething, because painful swollen gums make it difficult for children to chew food, learn to walk or talk. Hormonal changes that occur during puberty can also cause a child to experience a loss of appetite. This condition is called anorexia nervosa.

2.2 Anorexia due to psychology

Psychological problems can cause eating disorders in young children.
When it comes to meals, children are not interested, even scared because their parents force them to eat or threaten them. Children try to control and under pressure about weight gain. Children have to endure feelings of stress and discomfort, causing them to develop anorexia mentality. Children have sad things like parents yelling, forcing children to eat

2.3 Anorexia due to disease

Children with diseases caused by viral or bacterial infections such as tonsillitis, nasopharyngitis, ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, intestinal infections causing fever, cough, fatigue... leading to anorexia. Children lack micronutrients such as protein, lysine, iron, zinc,...
Children have digestive disorders, abdominal pain, malabsorption syndromes, nausea, diarrhea or constipation.

2.4 Anorexia due to bad diet or habits

Diet and bad habits that parents inadvertently create for children are the most common causes of anorexia in children.
Choosing foods and preparing dishes are not attractive or suitable for the age of children. The amount of food is too little or too much and the meal distribution is not reasonable. Feed your child at the wrong time or at the wrong time, for example when the child is still full. This causes children to form a bad impression of eating because they do not feel full or really hungry. For children, the real feeling of fullness and hunger is only when the child wants to eat on his own. Meal times take too long The child sucks on food for a long time without chewing or swallowing. These things can lead to the child being afraid of swallowing, so they only want to eat liquid foods and do not like to eat solid foods that need to be chewed such as rice, meat, fish, vegetables, ... The child just ate while watching TV, on the phone or while eating while playing with toys, so parents are easier to persuade children to eat and children will eat faster. This is absolutely not good for children because it makes them not focus on eating, not feel the taste of food and forget about cravings. Over time, this bad habit can make children picky or anorexic.

2.5 Biological and genetic factors

Children born into families with chronic diseases such as kidney failure, cirrhosis, arthritis, colitis, ... have a higher risk of anorexia.

3. Nutrition examination for anorexic children

If the child's anorexia is not treated promptly, it will lead to serious consequences both physically and intellectually. What parents are most concerned about is how to get their children to stop anorexia and eat well again. Examination of children with anorexia is not only interested in the signs of anorexia children to find the cause, general examination for children but also nutritional examination for children with anorexia.
Nutrition examination for anorexia children is a process of examining, counseling and treating anorexia children scientifically built. Examination of children with anorexia usually begins with a general physical examination, which includes:
Checking the child's weight, height and body mass index Blood pressure check, done starting at 3 age Vision test Eye exam Dental exam Listen to heart and lungs Review standard immunization schedule A physical exam will help your doctor detect any physical problems or growth deficiencies. Then, the doctor will ask parents about the child's eating habits to assess whether the child is getting enough and balanced nutrients. If anything unusual is found, your doctor may order some additional tests to make an accurate diagnosis.
Nutritionists will build age-appropriate diets, create specific menus for each child, and guide how to prepare eye-catching, taste-stimulating and palatable dishes for young children. still ensure scientific and balanced nutritional composition. In general, child nutrition experts recommend that parents feed their children a balanced amount of fruits and vegetables, healthy sources of protein, and foods rich in fiber. Food should be grilled or steamed rather than fried. Parents will also be given guidance on what foods to limit, such as fast food, junk food, soft drinks and sugary drinks.
If parents have some problems with feeding, such as when the child is picky or anorexic, the dietitian can offer some advice on how to encourage the child to eat more and should Feed your child what's best to make sure he or she gets all of the nutritional needs for growth.
In addition, when parents go to a nutritionist for anorexia children, they are also guided on how to let their children exercise properly, contributing to stimulating children to eat better, increasing the effectiveness of treatment of anorexia children. If there are any nutritional deficiencies, a dietitian may prescribe certain nutritional supplements, such as vitamins and minerals.

4. Some ways to help children eat better

4.1 Some measures to increase energy in the diet

Young children only really want to eat when they have a need and only eat as much as they need. At each meal, parents should add 1 tablespoon of fat (oil, fat) or divide the food into several small meals at different times, not necessarily eating all at once. With that, even though the child can eat a small amount of food, he still does not lose weight. The addition of nutritious foods after main meals such as milk, cheese, yogurt, flan also helps to provide significantly more energy for children.
Children should eat foods that they like, because children often have special preferences for certain foods in a certain period of time. Parents should not prevent children because they are often afraid that their children will not be able to eat enough. Blocking sometimes creates a reaction of resistance and resistance in children. Instead, parents should add nutrients to other meals of the day.

4.2 Things to do to make children eat better

Parents should create an atmosphere of excitement and fun while eating. Prepared foods vary in type, color and taste. Sitting close to encourage children to eat actively or encourage children to eat together will help children feel more excited at each meal. In addition, parents can also tell stories that children love to increase children's interest.

4.3 What not to do

Do not let children eat sweets, drink soft drinks before main meals because it will create a false feeling of fullness and children will skip meals. Do not scold, beat or push children, because this will create stress and obsession at each meal. 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.
Do not arbitrarily give medicine 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. With many years of experience in examining and treating diseases in children, the Pediatrics Department at Vinmec International General Hospital has become one of the major health care centers, capable of examining, screening and treatment of many specialized diseases in children. Therefore, to determine if the child has anorexia, parents can take the child to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and receive support and advice from doctors and nutritionists.
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 to 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.