Why does my child overeat?

Question

My son is 5 years old and has always been a very greedy child. Most kids his age eat much less so I'm worried he may have a problem. He has always been greedy even as a baby and I just thought he had a heathly appetite but I don't know if this is a good thing or not.

For example, he will eat an entire can of Chef Boyardee Ravoli and most kids only eat half. We went out to Pizza Hut a few weeks ago and he ate 4 slices (I could ony eat 2 and I'm grown) and he was going to eat more but I told him no. Sometimes when he gets done eating these large meals, about 10 minutes later he will ask for a snack. Most of his babysitters say he eats them out of house and home. I find that embarrasing because I know I feed him more than enough food. I don't give him many sweets. He has a slim build, so he is not fat. I ask him why does he eat so much and he tells me that he likes food. Can he tell if he is full at this age? Should I regulate and stop him when I think he's had enough or ignore it?

Yes, I feed him LOTS of healthy foods too. He gets veggies, fruits, cereals and grains. But once in a very blue moon, I give him pizza or McDonalds because kids should get to be kids. He still overeats even on the healthy things.

Answer 1

you should control what he eats. if he wants four slices say no your the boss you have to take control or when he gets older he wont be able to stop him. with pizza and that slice a regular slice of pizza in half so that way it looks like he has more. with like ravolis and that give him a normal size serving but spoon only half of that normal size serving and then make him wait because it takes about twenty minutes to the brain that they want more and if he does then give him the other half of that normal serving size.

Answer 2

My son is 5 years old too and eats the same way. My son is very active and within the normal range for weight and height. Think about how much a 5 year old does in a day, if you ran and jumped and flew and talked that much, you would be hungry too.
I think that somewhere between age 5 and 6 is when they actually quit having the automatic stop when it comes to eating. I say that if he is not overweight and his doctor is okay with how he eats he is fine.

Note: With my son I always start off with small portions on his plate. Say half to a quarter piece of fruit, a 1/4 cup of veggies and a half cup of whatever the main dish is. He usually has seconds and sometimes thirds, but I never start him off with a rediculous amount of food.

Answer 3

It sounds like your boy is going thru a major growing spurt!..He likely runs or plays off all the energy he has eaten and needs more food to properly grow. I don't think eating a can of chef boyardee is an awful alot or over eating for a child that age. And 2 pieces of pizzas is hardly a gross amount to eat!..Are you very skinny and do not eat alot?..You are full grown, you don't need more..your son is constantly growly..and needs good nutrition. maybe you should talk to your Dr or see a nutrition so you can understand what exactly your child needs right now. Children need to have snacks during the day..they burn off more than eat.

Answer 4

If you feel like your child has a problem, then I would definately talk to his Pediatrician about it. I recently talked to my Pediatrician about my 20 month old son because he seems to eat a tremendous amount for his age. She said that it is ok to limit his portions to normal serving sizes, but if he still wants to eat when he is done, give him a variety of fruit, yogurt, or more veggies in lieu of more fattening foods. Is your son very energetic? It's possible that he has a very fast metabolism, and burns food much more quickly than the average child.

If he is not overweight, then you probably have nothing to worry about. You should teach him that once he eats his normal meal, if he is still hungry, to eat more healthy foods. Because when he gets older, his metabolism may not be as active, and his eating habits could cause a problem then.

As far as him eating the sitter out of house and home, I would be sure to send a large variety of snacks for him, since you know he eats more than average.

Simply "liking" food is not a reason to let your son eat. You know how much he needs to eat to remain healthy, and if he insists on eating anything over that, make sure it is something that is good for him.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I would take him to the doctor and have him checked out. There are several things that could possibly be wrong, or there could be nothing wrong at all if he isn't overweight.
My 5 year old neice is the same way, but she IS overweight, though my sister doesn't think she is. So, may be a matter of whether as a parent, you may not be seeing your son's real weight issues, or if he in fact is a skinny kid who is capable of eating that much food and not gain weight, I would definitely take him to a doctor. There should be a trigger telling him he is full and this trigger isn't kicking in. All of the fat and sodium and just all of that extra food in general isn't good for him.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Well I find this extremly odd. A boy his age shouldn't be eat that much. My brother is 12 and he can't even eat four slices of pizza. You should really get this checked out by a doctor. I think that there is a problem with a chemical imbalance or something in his body which tells the brain when the stomach is full. I am not sure so you should get it checked out by his doctor.

Answer 7

I don`t think you should ignore this kind of situation. If you`re worried, take your son to the doctor. If there are no problems (which I doubt) then it might be true that your son likes to eat. This is my opinion, but please, feed him healthy food. Not like Chef Boyardee or Pizza Hut. That`s too strong for you`re son at his age. Believe me, I took course of Nutrition.

Answer 8

I'm not sure I like your description of him being GREEDY. I don't think that's appropriate word to use. As long as you provide him with healthy food options and make sure he gets enough activity (which it sounds like you do), I see nothing wrong with letting him eat as much as he asks for. Trying to control it usually results in kids that sneak food, and develop an unhealthy relationship/dependancy with food.

There is certainly nothing wrong with encouraging him to share, or to recognise that he has had 4 slices of pizza and little Johnny has only had 2, who should get the last slice?

Answer 9

Well, all children are different and most times their differences are okay but in this case, I think he might have a problem. First things you need to ask yourself are:

Is he preoccupied while eating? People tend to eat more if they are preoccupied while eating. Our minds don't register that we are eating if we are doing something else at the same time and it can trick our minds into saying "I'm not full yet.." hence we keep eating.

Is he eating because he's bored, or because he's hungry? Is he asking for that snack right after dinner because there's nothing on tv so he might as well eat, or is it because he's truly hungry?

Answer 10

You should start serving him more of filling foods like potatoes and stuff like that. Sometimes you cant stop this, he might be growing and going to be tall, so its good you dont feed him alot of junk. I would suggest seeing a doctor, or even just phoning one and asking the nurse at the front desk. doc or her might be able to help you with this and let you know what would be best for him, or if he's not having enough of something in his diet that you have to start adding.