Healthy Diet Plan for Kids to Gain Weight

Eating junk food is not a healthy way for kids to gain weight.

Children who are underweight are more vulnerable to infections and prone to illnesses. They lack energy and get fatigued quickly. If you want to increase your child's weight, feeding him fatty or sugary junk food is not a healthy way to do it. A healthy diet will support their growth and make them perform and feel at their best.

Treating The Cause

Before you start changing your child's diet to get him to gain weight, make sure that his diet is the cause of his low weight. Children can be picky eaters: One day they'll eat whatever you serve them and the next day they won't touch any food at all. Some children are genetically skinny or small-boned. Underlying medical issues can also be to blame for your child's weight. Food allergies and food absorption problems, eating disorders, chronic vomiting and diarrhea can all influence your child's weight. Medical problems should be addressed before you adjust your child's diet.

Increasing Calories

A healthy diet plan that helps increase your child's weight can include healthy foods that are slightly adjusted to increase their caloric content. Instead of serving your child plain vegetables, add some butter or sour cream to increase the calories. Prepare eggs in butter and add cheese and ham to them. Fruit can be served over ice cream or full fat yogurt. Toss pasta in canola oil or olive oil, which are unsaturated "healthy" fat sources.

Calorie-Dense Foods

A child's healthy weight-gain diet plan should include healthy, calorie-dense foods. Calorie-dense foods are foods that have a large amount of calories per serving. Some examples include whole-wheat macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly on whole-grain bread and fruit smoothies made with full-fat yogurt. Fruit juices such as orange juice are also more calorie-dense compared with the whole fruits. Dried fruits contain more calories than fresh fruits, and because they are smaller, you can eat more of them.

Meal Frequency And Portion Sizes

Part of your child's weight-gain diet plan should focus on the frequency of the meals he eats. The more meals he eats throughout the day, the more calories he'll consume, resulting in weight gain. Your child may prefer eating six smaller meals spread throughout the day, or he may like to have three large standard meals and three snacks. Try to increase his portion sizes by adding an extra slice of bread or an extra helping of pasta.

References

• Kids Health: Should I Gain Weight?
• Drgreene.com: Tips For Helping Underweight Kids And Their Parents
• Virginia Tech University: Healthy Weights For Healthy Kids
• Gainingweight.info: Healthy High Calorie Foods To Gain Weight
• Healthy Cooking: Tips To Gain Weight For Underweight Children
• Keepkidshealthy.com: Boosting Calories