1 Year Old with Tremendous Appetite

My son has always been more in the 20th percentile but this sounds like him! I've always been amazed by those huge toddlers that seem to subsist off air and a single grape. But, my husband is like this too (and I am to a lesser extent as well) we just have huge appetites but are smaller people. I just try to offer my son really healthy foods.

I think you should keep doing what you are doing, soon enough he will become picky and eat less. As long as you feed him healthy you are doing just fine. 5th percentile is quite small, maybe he's going to grow!

Before you get too worried, let me tell you about my son. He has been the same way since 12 months. He's 21 months now. He is SO crazy active. I went to my Dr. with the same question. He said my son is probably burning his calories so fast he needs fuel. My son is the 50th percentile now, very average. He STILL eats like this and my Dr. is still not worried. In fact he said he'd be worried if my son wasn't asking for food, with how active he is.

Now, you should always address things with your Dr. if something is concerning to you. It just might not be a big deal in the end, though. Good luck!!

Maybe he is trying to catch up.
5th percentile for weight is small.

All my boys went thru periods of lots of eating, and they got chunky, and then they shot up in height and slimmed down.
If your son has lots and lots of active play time (outside, indoors) and he eats only at the table, you are not encouraging obesity.

If you sit him down in front of the TV with piles of food and he is not active, that's a different story.

Most kids need to eat 5-6 times a day. If yours is only eating 3 times, he's going to need a lot more food at each sitting. And if he's not gaining a lot of weight, I don't see what there is to worry about. Assuming he is active (not just sitting and eating all day, obsessed with food) and if he's meeting all his other milestones, he should be okay. Also, be sure he is getting enough water - "hunger" can be a sign of thirst. Sounds like you are giving him healthy food - be sure to offer a variety since he seems so interested in food - this is a great way to introduce new tastes, flavors and textures.

I think you should probably address this with your doctor...he could be ill, with something like tapeworm or some other type of disorder. It doesn't sound quite right, given that his weight is low. No one's metabolism is that fast. If he is begging for food, he is probably hungry...I think there's something going on that your doctor needs to address.

Oh, and I don't think you are encouraging obesity...people ought to eat when they are hungry. It's when we are not hungry that we ought not eat! :) I really do think, though, that you should be concerned...not in spite of his weight, but because of it in relation to his caloric intake.

Hope everything turns out okay!

Wow that is a healthy appetite. When is his next check up? What was his weight?

Children this age eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full.
Is he walking? Is he moving a lot more than he used to? It could be he is using more energy and so he needs more fuel. He could be going through a huge growing spurt.

This could be normal for him and at some point he will not have this appetite, because he will not be having a growing spurt.

Document his weight and length along with his intake. This way you can report to the Doc at the next check up.

Just keep feeding him healthy things.

I'm just curious if he's drinking a lot of whole milk. Kids get a lot of calories from that. For my kids, we often gave a 50/50 mix of whole milk with toddler formula to increase nutrients and calories.

Also wondering if he's sleeping through the night. Kids who don't take in enough calories during the day wake up at night to try to make up the difference.

My daughter at a LOT as a toddler. She would eat more pizza than I would at one point. She wasn't small, she was at the top of the charts and I did become somewhat concerned about weight, but apparently that's what she needed at the time bc she slimmed out between 3.5 and 4 and at some point she started eating a lot less, now she will eat a slice of pizza or less, for ex. She definitely eats less at 4 than she did as a toddler. He may be needing all that fuel to grow. If he's always been at the 5th % that may be his normal. Are you and dad small? Is he young 1 or almost 2?

I'd suggest that you make sure he is having protein and fat every time he eats. Pancakes, fruit bar and banana is a TON of sugar (and even more if syrup is involved!) and not much else. Starting the day that way will set off a big sugar cycle of ups and downs, and at the down point he will want another sugar/carb snack and it just repeats. Combining complex carbs (whole grain, veg, etc) with protein and fat will even out the sugar release and make a big difference. Whole wheat pancake with flax and pumpkin in it or something like that adds a bunch more fiber, protein and good fats and would be much more sustaining than a white flour pancake, for ex.

I do think we have different nutritional needs at different ages and toddlers seem to need more carbs than the average adult but definitely try to up the protein and good fats.

I think if you are offering only (or mostly) healthful foods to kids (and of course check with the pedi to make sure there isn't a health issue) then they take in the fuel they need. If they are getting juice and crackers all day, then not so much, they could just keep eating that combo forever bc their bodies will be screaming for more sugar as their blood sugar crashes over and over. It is definitely not all about weight at all!

Talk with his pediatrician. He may have a medical condition, such as worms, that prevents his body from utilizing the nutrients in his food.

I certainly wouldn't be concerned about encouraging obesity since his eating is not making him overweight. I would be concerned about why all that food isn't causing him to gain weight. Talk with his pediatrician.

My 15 month old eats twice as much as my three year old.

I think it's totally normal. We call him our "hobbit," because has breakfast 1, breakfast 2, etc. I'm serious. He eats two breakfasts and two lunches everyday, plus three snacks.

I certainly would not worry about obesity. It sounds like you are providing healthy choices for food- some kids are like that! Probably nothing to get alarmed about! On the other hand, some people mentioned health issues that can cause an increased appetite without weight gain, but one they did not mention was diabetes. I would bring him to the pedi if this keeps up- the blood sugar test is usually a very simple urine test. The other common symptom of diabetes is frequent urination which would be hard to gauge on a child who is in diapers. If you are concerned enough to post this issue, I would check with the pedi to make sure you aren't missing something that can cause further harm if it goes unchecked.

Do you know how the children on your side and your husbands side of the family typically are at this age? Just curious as this sounds similar but maybe not as extreme as the babies/kids on my side of the family. They were all slim and tall. They could eat like there was no tomorrow, except for me the token chubby. Anyway, It is still worth keeping an eye on and talking to your doctor but I wouldn't worry about him being obese. If he does end up like the people in my family he will worry about extra pounds when he's around 40 and things will level out for him, hopefully sooner rather than later as finding slim pants that also are long enough might be a problem. ;-)

Children should not eat all day. Have him checked out by the doc and find out how many calories a child his weight and age should have. Does obesity run in your family (both sides)? If so, you probably should be concerned if he continues to eat all day.

Blessings......

Thanks for asking this! I always wondered the same thing about my daughter who is only in the 20th percentile for height and weight! Your son sounds just like her. While my friends complain that their one year olds are on a "hunger strike" I complain that my grocery bill shot up $20 a week when she started eating solids!

its a growth spurt he may get fat but when he gets taller he will thin back out.

I wouldn't worry about it. When my daughter was 1 1/2, she was quite petite and no one believed me when I said she had quite an appetite. I brought her to a wedding that had a buffet line and she ate ALL of my food. Then my husband got some and she pretty much ate all of that too. By then everyone at the table was just staring at this small kid eating soo much. I honestly think kids at that age eat a lot because they are growing so much and becoming more active. My daughter eats less now and she will be 3 in June. If you are concerned you could always call the pediatrician, but my guess is he will be fine. He is just a hungry boy and needs lots of food to grow!

If he's healthy, then don't worry is what I say. Kids go through growth spurts at all different ages, or he may be blessed with a fast metabolism. Either way It doesn't sound like anything to worry about.

Some websites that may help are:

http://www.DrMomma.org and http://www.AttachmentParenting.org

Also the book 'The Vital Touch' by Sharon Heller is a great resource as well. Your local library should have a copy or you can grab one from Amazon.com.

Good luck.

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