18 yr old son underweight

Deggs · 1 Apr 20, 11:29 PM

Has anyone else had their son shoot up in height, he’s 6ft now, maybe just over? But his weight is not following, he’s only 117 pounds. He’s not ill, and does eat, he’s just so thin! Obviously can’t get him a doctors appointment atm, have tried to feed him up a bit but need tips and tricks really.

Deggs x

Jakey Neverland · 2 Apr 20, 07:14 AM

My son is just coming up to 15 around 5ft10 and 113lb. He has always been lean thought, although I would like some more meat on him.

buryboy · 2 Apr 20, 08:05 AM

nhs.uk/live-well/healthy...mi-calculator/

nhs.uk/live-well/healthy...weight-adults/

Hi Deggs
I put your son's details into the NHS bmi calculator above. It came out at 15.8 which would be a cause for some concern
I have linked also the NHS advice to try to improve the situation

What does your son think ?
Are you trying to do this behind his back or with his full support ?
Does he work ? Is he skipping meals when you can't see him ?
Try to have as many meals together as possible so you can see what he eats
Go ' full fat' on stuff. Go for snacks in between meals. plenty of drinks too.
If he exercises excessively , is he burning off too many calories?

Happy to answer any questions you may have - you probably know about my daughters eating disorder- I am not suggesting your son has one but I do have some experience with underweight kids !

Good luck

floridasgirl · 2 Apr 20, 08:41 AM

Dd16 has always been underweight. Just bought her a size 2 prom dress (😥 hopefully get used) and its big on her!
She was under a paediatrician for a while and dietician. The dietician was a waste of time as she just told us what was healthy to eat!
Dd just has a very poor appetite and eats at odd times. She will eat a similar size tea to her 10 yr old brother but then want noodles or something at about 9pm! I've never been worried about her deliberately not eating as she does snack as well.
I would say so long as your ds is happy and healthy otherwise, some people are just naturally slimmer, dh was when I met him.
All the docs will do is put them on 'build up' shakes which dd wouldnt have as they really were awful!°
Unless of course there is an underlying cause for his size. I would say if hes always been slimmer then it's not.

Deggs · 2 Apr 20, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by buryboy

nhs.uk/live-well/healthy...mi-calculator/

nhs.uk/live-well/healthy...weight-adults/

Hi Deggs
I put your son's details into the NHS bmi calculator above. It came out at 15.8 which would be a cause for some concern
I have linked also the NHS advice to try to improve the situation

What does your son think ?
Are you trying to do this behind his back or with his full support ?
Does he work ? Is he skipping meals when you can't see him ?
Try to have as many meals together as possible so you can see what he eats
Go ' full fat' on stuff. Go for snacks in between meals. plenty of drinks too.
If he exercises excessively , is he burning off too many calories?

Happy to answer any questions you may have - you probably know about my daughters eating disorder- I am not suggesting your son has one but I do have some experience with underweight kids !

Good luck

Thanks for all the replies. He knows he’s too thin but if I go on about it too much it stresses him out. He’s got an ASD and he gets anxiety about stuff. He knows we’re trying to help with his diet, he does eat all his meals and we eat dinner together. The only one he misses is breakfast, when he was going to college I made him have some, but now obv that’s all stopped atm and he sleeps in again and misses it. I’ve said to my husband who makes the majority of the dinners to give him bigger portions and fortify them with something like cheese. I phoned the doctors last week just after the lockdown as we’ve just changed surgeries so wanted to find out about their appointment system, but was told it was classed as non essential. I work in a hospital so know everything’s just shut down now. He doesn’t work atm, he’s a gamer so no exercise either but when he’s at college he’s doing a mechanics course so lifts tyres and stuff all day. Never seems to have a problem with that, and is not getting excessively tired.

Thank you for your help, yes I do know about your daughter and hope she is improving now. It’s such a worry as I know from the children’s ward they are getting more boys coming in with eating disorders now. I can’t see that that is what’s happening here, but it’s frustrating that we can’t get anything else diagnosed or helped with atm.

Deggs x

hols2florida · 2 Apr 20, 10:36 AM

My 16 year old DS is about 5’8” & just over 7st. It bothers me, but not him! He just says he eats (which he does), but just burns it off easily. He doesn’t really exercise though. He has seen our GP, who wasn’t at all concerned. I suggested things like protein drinks to build him up but the GP said to do it with proper food. He is also under a couple of hospital clinics (nothing to do with weight). Some of them weigh him routinely but nobody has ever been concerned other than me! He did shoot up all of a sudden, maybe it’s just how he is.

2 Apr 20, 10:36 AM	#6
	2 Apr 20, 10:36 AM hols2florida Very Serious Dibber
hols2florida Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Apr 12	My 16 year old DS is about 5’8” & just over 7st. It bothers me, but not him! He just says he eats (which he does), but just burns it off easily. He doesn’t really exercise though. He has seen our GP, who wasn’t at all concerned. I suggested things like protein drinks to build him up but the GP said to do it with proper food. He is also under a couple of hospital clinics (nothing to do with weight). Some of them weigh him routinely but nobody has ever been concerned other than me! He did shoot up all of a sudden, maybe it’s just how he is. Edited at 12:16 PM.