At a time when 30% of Malaysian children[1] are obese by the age of five, having a thin child may look like a blessing in disguise. Obesity in childhood and adolescence has a greater propensity to lead to obesity in adulthood and according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019[2], one in two adults is now overweight.

Still, when parents have a kid that seems slender or even skinny, they worry that their child may be unhealthy or malnourished. This worry is totally understandable.

When Aiden was very Thin

Back in the day when Mrs Tan began weaning her-first born, she noticed that he didn’t seem to be interested in solids, particularly when variety such as vegetables and fruits was introduced. Aiden liked his porridge plain, and always insisted on not tasting discernible flavours and textures.

By the time he developed enough finger dexterity to pluck out things he didn’t like about his food, little Aiden would begin every meal by first removing every single bit of vegetable or meat he could find in his bowl. Only when he was sure that there was just rice and clear soup left would he consent to have anything put in his mouth. Still, it would take him forever to finish his single serving of food.

Naturally, this resulted in Aiden being painfully thin. He remained this way for months, looking like skin and bones, and Mrs Tan despaired.

Thin No More

Fastforward 10 years later and Aiden is today a strong, healthy, school-going child with normal height and weight. He hit all his developmental milestones, remains an active participant in activities and sports and is doing well in school.

How did this miracle happen?

Solving Picky Eating Trouble

Mrs Tan succeeded in solving Aiden’s weight problem by being resourceful, patient and informed. Since her son only wanted to eat rice and soup, she made sure she made soup that was super nutritious.

• Adding Healthy Fats & Carbohydrates
  Sometimes she made bone broth and sometimes she double boiled. When Aiden started accepting additions to his food, she also made white fish or oily fish porridge for added protein. She read up about high energy foods being necessary to provide the fuel for children to grow, develop and learn and added high calorie, high fat foods that included full fat butter and all kinds of dairy, bananas, avocado, peanut butter and olive oil to make his meals more satisfying and energy-dense. She learnt that children needed to eat healthy fats for their brain, eyes, immune and nervous system function and develop and they were necessary to help the body absorb certain vitamins such as Vitamins A, D, E and K.
  
  
• Meal Times were Fun Times
  She refrained from getting into food fights and power struggles to avoid tension at meal times. She didn’t want Aiden to associate eating with anxiety and made sure that food and meal times were always interesting and fun. She took him to the supermarket, let him choose the foods he wanted to discover and she let him help with food preparation. They ate together at the family table and this helped him whet his curiosity and appetite for new foods.
  
  
• Being Patient and Relaxed
  She gave him time to work out his food preferences and understood that sometimes, toddlers need time to develop their palate and taste buds to appreciate new textures and flavours. She read research and understood that developing children have an in-born ability to regulate their own appetites and didn’t force him to eat when he didn’t want to, even though he seemed to be eating too little.
  
  
• Respect his Preferences
  At 12 years old today, Aiden still does not like eating certain foods. He will never try durian, for example, or jackfruit and mangosteens although he loves apples, mangoes and grapes. He will not eat squid, many types of seafood, liver and mushrooms although he accepts eggs and tofu. He does not like brinjals, ladies fingers, turnips and tomatoes but will happily eat carrots, spinach, cabbage, lettuce and many more. He has a set list of what he will and will not touch but that’s what defines him to be who he is.
  
  
  
  
• Supplementing with Formula Milk
  Mrs Tan worked around the foods that Aiden liked. She got creative with presentation and cooking styles but on days when even the cutest finger foods couldn’t get Aiden to take a bite, there was always the one fall back she could rely on ─ milk. Aiden loved his milk. On days he wasn’t eating much, Mrs Tan would simply make sure his nutrition requirements were supplemented with formula milk. Aiden drank milk regularly right through his kindergarten and primary school days and still takes milk with his breakfast cereals and beverages until today.
  

When to be Concerned about Your Child’s Skinny Frame

Aiden is no longer thin and has filled out appropriately. Having thin kids in the growing up stage is actually quite normal because children typically lose their baby fat when they enter toddlerhood. The phenomenal growth of babies tripling their birth weight by the time they reach 12 months will noticeably be absent as they begin to stand upright, walk, run, climb and jump. As this period begins, weight gain tapers and growth plateaus. Some children may only grow in spurts, staying thin and not growing taller for a length of time but suddenly shoot up and fill out once in a while. Generally speaking, children will only pick up 2kg or so, and 6 to 8cm[3] growth in height each year until they reach puberty.

Children are also affected by genetic factors and will remain on the thin side if both parents are slim. But whether or not slenderness runs in the family, many children will remain thin as their bones elongate during this phase of growth. So long as they are accepting food, growing well, and staying active and alert, parents shouldn’t be too concerned about the numbers registered on the weighing scale.

However, if your child is always falling sick, is lethargic, irritable, cannot focus, doesn’t sleep well, and seems to be losing weight, wasting and not growing taller, you must see the paediatrician right away.

There could be an underlying factor such as anaemia or a chronic disease or even emotional problems that may be interfering with the child’s growth ─ in which case a doctor will be the best person to consult.

Monitor Your Child’s Height and Weight at Home using the BMI Chart

If you have worries about your child’s weight, you can always monitor his growth and development by measuring his height and weight regularly and check against the Body Mass Index (BMI) Chart[4] provided in the link.

This is an easy online calculator from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It provides the BMI and the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile based on CDC growth charts for children and teens aged between two and 19 years. All you will need to do is to key in your child’s age, sex, height and weight, click ‘calculate’ and the calculator will tell you if your child is normal, underweight or overweight. You will then be able to take appropriate measures should the results be in the last two categories.

Energy and Nutrients Needed for Healthy Growth

The word “growth” is often misunderstood as it does not mean measurements by weight or height alone. Bones, teeth, muscles and blood are important considerations too because they all make up the sum total of growth.

Strong bones, for example, are needed for the child to grow tall and proportionate. Teeth are not just for chewing food but have to grow out well in order to play its role in strengthening the child’s jaw and facial muscles. Muscles are needed to hold his growing frame and support his increasing strength and mobility. And blood, with the right amount of red blood cells, is needed to transport nutrients and oxygen to the body’s tissues and organs in order that they grow and function properly.

Vitamins and Minerals Required

For this reason, eating a proper diet that provides all the necessary nutrients is necessary for forming the foundation for a child’s healthy growth.

• Some of the vitamins needed are: Vitamins A,B 1,2 3, 6, 9 (folate) and 12, D, E, and K.
• Some of the minerals needed are: Calcium, Iron, Iodine and Zinc.
• Other essential minerals include phosphorus, magnesium, copper, manganese and chromium.

​​​​The best way for your child to get all these vitamins and minerals is by eating a wide variety of foods from all the food groups. As prescribed by Dr Wong Jyh Eiin, Nutritionist and Council Member of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia , these foods include:

Plant-sourced foods such as vegetables, fruits, grain and fortified cereals

Animal-sourced foods such as dairy, meat, poultry, fish and eggs

He writes in his article in Positive Parenting[5], the website by the Malaysian Paediatric Association, that, “Nutrient-dense food, such as milk, which is high in important nutrients that support growth, is also vital to support children’s rapid rate of growth.”

Counter Nutritional Deficiencies with Morinaga Chil-kid

If you’re worried about your child looking thin and malnourished or that he could be missing out on essential nutrients during his picky eating phase, you could turn to supplementing his diet with milk optimally formulated with all the key nutrients your child could need.

Morinaga Chil-kid ─ a Japanese formulation specially designed for Asian children aged 1 to 7 ─ features a balanced ratio of 45 essential nutrients including AA, DHA, Omega 3&6 LCPs, GOS, 5 Nucleotides, Protein, Vitamins and Minerals.

Nutrients Briefly Explained

AA or Arachidonic Acid is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) are for brain and neural health development.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs) essential for preventing inflammation and promoting heart health.

GOS or Galacto-oligosaccharides are prebiotics that promote healthy flora in the intestines.

Nucleotides are compounds that boost the immune system

Combined with 27 essential vitamins and minerals, Morinaga Chil-kid comes with less sugar and a subtle vanilla taste. Find out more about how it can benefit your child on this site!

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