Excessive Nutrition Intake Variation

You said that you were concerned that your child eats too much. Your child may eat a lot, but s/he is still about the right height and weight for his/her age. Your child may only like certain foods and eat too much of one thing. Sometimes children who eat a lot once in a while are just going through a growth spurt. If your child only eats too much once in a while, this is pretty common for children his/her age. Only children who eat too much a lot of the time and gain too much weight have an eating problem.

Warning signs that things are getting worse:

• Your child eats too much almost every day.
• Your child starts too gain too much weight.
• Your child steals or sneaks food.
• Your child dislikes being active or exercising.

If you think these things are getting worse, talk to your child's doctor even if you have talked about it before.

American Academy of Pediatrics (1996). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care. Elk Grove Village, Illinois: Author.