Most parents believe that they are failing their children if they don’t do something to ‘fatten’ them. This flawed reasoning is driving numerous parents to feed children dietary supplements such as vitamins and minerals which do more harm than good – Dr. Gita Mathai It’s quite common to hear middle class parents and grandparents expressing dissatisfaction about their children’s physical growth and development. Many tend to be unhappy with their children’s height and weight — they are either too fat or thin — their body mass index (weight divided by height in meters squared) is not the ideal 23, or they seem to lack energy and stamina. However, such fears about children’s physical development are mostly unwarranted, especially in the first year of an infant’s life. For instance the birth weight of a newborn should ideally double by the end of the fifth month and triple by the end of the first year. An infant who was born prematurely may weigh 2 kg or less at birth. That means her weight should be 4 kg at five months and 6 kg on the first birthday. Another mother may have delivered a baby that was 3.5 kg at birth, 7 kg at the end of the fifth month and 10.5 kg on the first birthday. When these two children meet, although both have gained weight proportionately and are growing normally, the 10 kg child may seem much healthier than the 6 kg one. Inevitably, this prompts comparisons and heartburn among parents and family members who begin comparing diets and worry whether the latter child should be administered dietary supplements to accelerate her physical development. Unfortunately, even educated parents tend to be unaware that every child follows her own individual linear growth curve. Enhanced diets are unlikely to boost a child’s physical progression. For example after the age of one, a child needs only 400 ml of milk per day. Increasing the quantity of milk consumption to increase weight/height is likely to prove counterproductive. Intake of large quantities of milk bloats the stomach and is likely to cause abdominal distress in young children. Ideally, if a child eats a balanced, home-cooked meals (not instant noodles and other fast food) for breakfast, lunch and dinner, supplemented with a homemade snack of fruits or nuts at 10 a.m and 5 p.m, she will be on a healthy growth trajectory. Snacking on ready-to-eat, nutritionally sub-standard packaged foods should be discouraged. The common refrain of most middle class Indian parents is that their children have poor appetites and don’t eat enough. A child who exercises for at least an hour and has her meals at fixed times is likely to have a good appetite. Yet despite reassurances from paediatricians, parents tend to doubt their children are developing optimally. They believe that they are failing their children if they don’t do something to ‘fatten’ them. This flawed reasoning is driving a growing number of parents to feed children dietary supplements such as vitamins and minerals which do…
