Poor Weight Gain - Causes

• Inadequate food intake: the child shows reduced food intake, resulting in the following inadequacies:
  • low iron
  • low vitamins
  • low proteins
  • low calcium
• Failure to assimilate or inability to absorb and retain nutrients, due to two main reasons:
  • food intolerance
    • gluten sensitivity; wheat or proteins causing stomach sickness
    • lactose intolerance; unable to tolerate milk and milk products such as curd, cheese or milk in any other form
  • medical reasons
    • worm infestations
    • frequent illnesses such as diarrhoea, fever and respiratory allergies
    • food allergies due to colours and preservatives in the food
    • thyroid dysfunction
    • tuberculosis
    • genetic diseases, such as Down syndrome and inborn error of metabolism
    • premature or preterm babies
    • certain medications that can interfere with the absorption of food
    • type 1 diabetes
    • heart diseases
• Psychological and behavioural problems:
  • mood swings
  • mood disorders
  • risky behaviour
  • stubborn, obstinate children throwing temper tantrums
  • difficult child
  • disobedient, angry and irritable children

Reasons behind poor weight gain in children are as follows:

• Parents have inadequate knowledge about the daily food requirement according to the age of the child.
• Eating amidst distractions, such as the TV or a quarrel in the house.
• Forceful feeding, such as punishing the child physically or verbally for not eating food.
• The child is made to eat in a hurry.
• No encouragement is given to eat healthy food.
• Lot of family outings involve eating junk and fast foods.
• Parents are either too strict or too yielding to the demands of their children.
• Children have unhealthy eating patterns.