chronic weight gain

[Nic306]

My son will be eight years old this month.  He is about 4 feet six inches tall and weighs 89 pounds.  I know this will sound like I am not being truthful, but he does not over eat.  Three meals a day and 2 snacks a day.  I portion out his food appropriately.  This sounds hard to believe but every year since he was a toddler, he goes through tremendous weight gain during the winter months.  Three years ago he gained 14 pounds in about 3-4 months.  Last year it was 10 pounds.  This year he was 79 pounds in the fall and now is 89 pounds.  His face appears puffy and most of the weight is in the belly.  We have had his thyroid checked and his TSH levels were 2.996 which falls in the normal range.  His sugar was checked and that was normal as well.  He was tested for Cushings and it was negative.  He has been seen by an Endocrinologist who did not seem to take seriously my concerns and said he must just have a slow metabolism.  He sent us to a nutrionist.  She said that he could be insulin resistant and to monitor the carb intake and increase the protein and activity level.  At the rate he is going he will be 100 pounds by next year and if it continues, where will he end up?  Does anyone have any ideas about what can be causing this?  Is it worth pursuing a second opinion from and Endocrinologist?

[margypops]

What do the 3 meals and the 2 snacks consist of..is he exercising playing sports , what does he do when he is home does his Dad get out with him...How about the food you buy in the house for all of you, would you say you stick to healthy foods, veg, fruits some protein ? Buy no foods in the house that he cannot eat, so have a range of heathy snacks , the stores are full of foods to buy..would you say the rest of the family are the right weight and eat healthily ?

[sweetpea03]

I would suggest changing his diet. Have lots of lean protein and even have slightly under what his calorie intake would be normally. Mostly just saying that he can eat when he is hungry, but not over eat, even if it technically says he can have more according to his height and weight. Try that for a while, and if the problems continue, then go for the second opinion. good luck.