Limiting physiological anorexia in children: How long should meals be separated?

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Anorexia in children is a problem that many parents are concerned about. Therefore, nutrition and care methods to help limit physiological anorexia in children are extremely important. Accordingly, the nutrition in meals should be changed regularly, each meal should be spaced a reasonable amount of time apart to help children absorb better.

1. What is physiological anorexia in children?

Physiological anorexia is a common eating disorder in children, especially children aged 1 to 6 years. This condition makes children eat less, refuse to eat, thereby not absorbing the necessary amount of nutrients, leading to the risk of malnutrition and growth retardation. Besides, physiological anorexia makes children obsess about weight, food and often have health problems such as anemia, hormone imbalance, digestive disorders and reduced bone density. The symptoms of anorexia in children are often as follows:
The child refuses to eat, fusses when parents serve food or feed the baby. During a prolonged meal time, children often refuse to chew or swallow and often hold food in their mouths for a long time. Many foods or all foods are unpalatable and the child eats less than usual.

2. Causes of anorexia in children

Most young children without proper nutrition and care from their parents as soon as they start learning to eat will easily lead to physiological anorexia in children. Accordingly, the main causes of anorexia and anorexia children are as follows:
2.1. Parents give children bad habits in eating Unhealthy habits created by parents for children in the process of eating are one of the causes of children's anorexia. For example, each meal often lasts a long time, making the food cold and unpalatable and at risk of infection from heavy flies and dust. In addition, parents often spoil their children during eating and drinking, so let them hold food for a long time in their mouth or swallow food without chewing, thereby making children afraid of swallowing, preferring to eat only liquid foods and not liking foods. Dry food needs to be chewed like meat, fish, vegetables, rice...
Another mistake that parents often make is giving children snacks between meals because they are worried that “the child eats too much. little” in the main meals. But in fact, many times, the amount of food in a child's main meals is enough and parents accidentally make the child never feel hungry (because there is always food in the child's stomach) leading to the child eating. eat little or no food at the next meal.
Bad habits of parents like often forcing their baby to eat more when full, this can put undue stress on the baby, not to mention that the baby may vomit all the food used. Along with that, they can form a bad impression in the mind that makes children not always feel full or really hungry. Children only feel full or really hungry when parents let them eat when they want. Many cases of physiological anorexia in children make parents depressed, afraid to build a nutritious diet and let children eat adult food. This will affect the child's taste, nutrition and development.
2.2. Children often lack concentration and distraction when eating Children in general are more interested in playing than in eating, so many parents often allow their children to watch TV or mobile phones while eating or take them out during meals. This is a bad habit because they make children not focus on meals and forget about cravings, if this situation persists, it will lead to physiological anorexia in children.
Most parents often indulge, feeding their children their favorite foods for a long time can make the baby become picky eaters and refuse to eat other foods. This long-term condition can lead to nutritional imbalances due to inadequate intake of nutrients and rejection of nutrients that children do not like. However, besides being able to eat favorite foods, it can also make your baby anorexic by eating too much for a long time.

2.3. Children are anorexic due to the stressful atmosphere during the meal. The stressful atmosphere of the meal, such as parents being impatient when feeding their baby, will sometimes yell when the child eats slowly or doesn't want to eat and accidentally makes the child eat. scared. Unlike adults, the feeling of hunger in children is often not obvious, so parents should not force children to eat when they are not really hungry. In addition, parents should practice letting their children participate in the happy family meal atmosphere. This will help children not feel alone when eating and increase appetite when eating.
2.4. The influence of psychological and environmental factors on children's anorexia Psychological factors play an important role in causing physiological anorexia in children as follows:
Parents force their children to eat because they feel their children eat less than they do. with peers of the same age, thereby causing children to develop anorexia and fear of eating. The effects of mental problems lead to eating disorders in young children, leading to a lack of appetite for healthy nutrients. Children with anorexia tend to be depressed, have difficulty coping with stress, and have different behavior and personality traits from other children. The pressure on issues in daily life such as pressure on grades, exams... makes children feel stressed and develop anorexia mentality. Besides psychological factors, many environmental factors also affect the child's anorexia such as:
Relationships at school, academic pressure and grades can make children anorexic. "Public anorexia" occurs when a child begins to enter adolescence, the hormonal changes at this stage can make a child feel anorexia. Excessive activities such as gymnastics, athletics, or active games can also cause a child to feel anorexia. 2.5. Health conditions and biological and genetic factors make children anorexic Children as well as adults, if the body is tired or unwell, it will reduce appetite and loss of appetite. For example, at the beginning of teething, the baby will have anorexia due to painful swollen gums that make chewing food difficult.
Other health conditions such as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, inflammatory conditions such as rhinitis, eyes causing cough, fever, fatigue... make children anorexic.
In addition to the influence of health status, research from scientists shows that anorexia often has a genetic tendency. Accordingly, children born into families with a history of chronic diseases such as kidney failure, colitis, arthritis... have a higher risk of anorexia.

3. How to limit physiological anorexia for children?

To limit anorexia in children, parents need to have appropriate nutrition and care for each age, gender and health status, to meet the children's necessary energy needs. Some measures to help limit physiological anorexia for children can be mentioned as follows:
3.1. Building a reasonable diet for children Parents should build a nutritious diet right from the time their children start eating solid foods. Accordingly, children 6 months old is the appropriate period to start weaning. Because at this stage the baby is more active than in the previous stage, the body begins to expend more energy. Therefore, breast milk cannot provide enough energy for the baby to function every day. Complementary nutrition for children is extremely necessary.
To avoid anorexia in children, how long is a reasonable interval between each meal? According to nutrition experts, the baby's weaning diet should be divided into 2 meals a day. In which, each meal must be spaced at least 2 hours apart for the baby to fully digest the food from the previous meal.
Parents need to develop a care regimen for children that ensures 4 groups of essential nutrients including starch (corn, rice, flour...), protein (eggs, meat, fish, milk ..), lipids (peanut, sesame, animal fat..), fiber, vitamins and minerals (green vegetables, fruits...). When babies are just starting to eat solid foods, mothers should give them separate foods that are most similar to the type of milk they are using with the amount from little to a lot, from thin to thick so that the baby can get used to the food.
Besides, in order to limit anorexia in children, parents should teach children the habit of sitting upright when eating, eating each spoonful, resting between each spoon and stopping eating when the baby is full. In case the baby closes his mouth, grimaces or spits food out, the mother should not force the baby to eat, but persevere until the baby is happy and eager to receive the food.
Parents should balance groups of essential nutrients for children and change nutrition every day so that children do not feel bored. Accordingly, the child's diet should not repeat a food because it will make the child bored because of eating too much or an excess of one nutrient but a lack of another.
Teach children the habit of eating on time by making a meal timetable for the baby and strictly following it. Because the right diet will help the baby's stomach get used to food, avoid anorexia and help the baby absorb food better.

3.2. Encourage anorexic children to go to the kitchen with their mothers Parents should listen to their children's opinions, because at this stage, they understand that children like to make decisions about what they will eat. Therefore, talking with your baby about foods in the meal to have a balanced nutrition will help children enjoy and increase their appetite when eating. Besides, the mother should also encourage the child to help her pick vegetables, wash vegetables, set the table for the whole family... that will stimulate the baby to want to eat the food that she helped her parents cook.
3.3. The diet should ensure adequate nutrition and stimulate the baby's appetite. A nutritious diet will stimulate the child's appetite. Accordingly, the vitamins and minerals in the diet have the effect of stimulating the child's appetite. Many studies have demonstrated the role of zinc in stimulating children's appetite. Supplementing with zinc for children can be zinc available in food or through culture technology, which is still guaranteed to be natural, easy to absorb, so it is safe for the baby's health. Many foods contain zinc such as chicken, oysters, shrimp, crab, and dark green vegetables.
3.4. Encourage children to participate in fun activities Fun activities such as walking, soccer, playing catch... help children expend energy and increase hunger, thereby helping children eat better and avoid situations physiological anorexia and better health. Therefore, parents should encourage and participate in fun and active daily activities with their children.
Parents should also massage the baby to help the baby's digestive system work better, contribute to limiting gastrointestinal diseases to help the child healthy and grow better.
For physiological anorexia in children, the improvement of symptoms may take place for a long time, so it is recommended that parents be patient and calm when supplementing with nutrients, even through eating or drinking. functional foods. Especially when using functional foods, it is recommended that parents choose foods of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow their children to use many types of food at the same time or continuously change types of dietary supplements.
In addition to zinc, parents also need to supplement their children with other important vitamins and minerals such as lysine, chromium, B vitamins,... errands.
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