Don't Consult Your Doctor When You Lose Weight

Underweight children can have a negative impact on health. However, increasing body weight also can not be done haphazardly. Children need healthy food and balanced nutrition so that their weight and health are well maintained. To achieve this, parents can consult a doctor. To find out whether a child's weight is ideal or not, parents can monitor the child's weight adjusted to the child's height and age.

Checks for Signs of Weight Loss

Knowing whether a child's weight is lacking or not, can actually be seen from the child's physical condition. For example, ribs that are clearly visible in the shower or the size of clothing that does not increase. In addition, children who experience less weight tend to get sick often and get tired easily when doing daily activities. If these signs are experienced by the child, it is important to take the child to the doctor or health service to overcome them. Both in hospitals, health centers and Posyandu. The doctor will usually evaluate the child's eating habits, activity and physical health of the child and the environment as a whole before determining the appropriate treatment.

• Child Growth Data

The doctor will check weight, height, age, and gender. This was done to determine the ideal body weight in children by entering data in a growth chart or body mass index. In addition, doctors can also assess through data on growth and development of children who are recorded every month on the Card to Health (KMS).

• Children's Nutrition Intake

After collecting growth data, the doctor will also collect information about the intake of food consumed by children so far. This can be done with a food pyramid guide, to facilitate the explanation and grouping of foods that children like and dislike. The doctor can then advise which foods are consumed by underweight children so they can gain and reach their ideal body weight.

• Additional Examination

There is also the possibility that doctors need to do a more specific physical examination and laboratory tests, to find out the cause of underweight in children. This is done especially if the doctor suspects underweight in children due to certain medical conditions. For example, children suffer from anemia or there is an infection so the child has chronic diarrhea or vomiting which causes weight loss.

How to Overcome Underweight

If underweight in a child occurs not due to other underlying medical conditions, you are advised to provide adequate calorie intake to the child. However, avoid giving calorie intake through junk food or fast food even though it can increase a child's weight, because the habit of consuming junk food since childhood can carry over into adulthood. Of course this is not good for children's health in the future. Apart from the unbalanced nutritional value, it can also increase the risk of obesity. Increasing a child's weight in a healthy manner can be done by getting children to eat healthy foods in a balanced way. For example, by providing nutrition every day through various types of foods such as bread, cereals, eggs, nuts, fish, cheese, meat, various types of vegetables and fruit. In addition to eating a variety of foods, also complete with giving milk to children to support growth and development. Therefore, milk is an important intake for children in their infancy. Important nutrients that are lacking from food, can be supplemented from milk. For those of you who have picky eater or picky eater children, prepare to invite children to choose foods they like when shopping together. To introduce new, healthier foods, prepare by serving them along with their favorite foods. Another way that can make children more interested in eating is to make food in an attractive form. No less important is to get used to eating with children at the dinner table, so parents can set an example for children by eating various types of healthy food together. Be wary of less weight in children, because it can cause health problems that are not mild. Starting from malnutrition or malnutrition, decreased immunity, and also slow growth. Consult a doctor if the child is underweight so that it can be resolved properly.