Anorexia is a very common condition in children, of all ages. Anorexia has many different manifestations: children eat less than usual, hold food in their mouth for a long time, refuse to swallow, refuse to eat certain foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk or refuse to eat all kinds of food. food, run away when it's time to eat, hear the clink of spoons or bowls, or see that food has a nauseating reaction or the feeding parents refuse to eat but others feed it...
There are many causes of anorexia in children
The first reason to mention is lack of food. The mother during pregnancy lacks food (iron deficiency, calcium deficiency, zinc deficiency, vitamin deficiency...). Leads to children being malnourished from the womb. As a result, babies are born prematurely, underweight, leading to laziness to breastfeed right from the first months after birth. Babies born vaginally and at full weight may be lazy or refuse to breastfeed. The same thing happens with older children. Unbalanced diets, lack of substances leading to lack of vitamin D, vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, especially zinc deficiency, will make children very anorexia.
The second cause is sick children, acute diseases caused by bacterial infections, viral infections of the respiratory system, digestive system (gastritis, enteritis...). When children are infected, the content of vitamins and minerals is greatly lost, especially vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamins of group B, magnesium, B6, iron and zinc, making children anorexic. In addition, children with bacterial infections often use antibiotics, which can easily lead to intestinal dysbacteriosis along with physical damage to the digestive system, so children have abdominal distension, indigestion, and anorexia.
Unsuitable food, unbalanced diet, too much starch makes children anorexic. Usually in the first couple of weeks, children eat very well, eat very well, then they eat less due to the need for B vitamins (especially vitamin B1) and magnesium deficiency.
Some other causes such as teething children, mouth ulcers, eating without time, eating snacks, drinking soft drinks before meals, even psychological.
Methods to help children eat well again
To solve pathological anorexia, it is necessary to consult a nutritionist about a specific diet, suitable for each child. It is important to create a happy atmosphere during the meal and comfortably help children eat well. Avoid "pressing" children to eat, should not scold, threaten, but must find out the cause of anorexia in children to overcome.
There should be a diet and medicine specifically for premature and low birth weight babies. Full supplement of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B group and minerals such as magnesium, zinc. Especially not to abuse antibiotics.
Teach children to eat a variety of foods and always change the food and processing methods to make them eat deliciously. Children should not be given complementary foods too early. When children are 6 months old, they should give them complementary foods. Do not force your child to eat too much because you want your child to gain weight quickly
Source: National institute of nutrition