My son's problem

DiegoTorrealba34

So my son wants to start being healthy. He is 13 years old, 5'7", and weighs 121-124 pounds. What is the daily calorie requirement he should eat to maintain weight because I fear that 2,000 could be too little or too much

allyphoe

Being healthy for a teenager means eating a varied, balanced diet and getting regular physical activity. If his doctor hasn't told you there's a medical reason to count or otherwise monitor his calorie intake, it's not appropriate to do so. Kids with no medical issues generally do a fine job self-regulating their intake, and your child's weight and height indicates that he's also doing a fine job self-regulating.

allyphoe

Also, at 13, he's still growing, and maintaining his current weight is not an appropriate goal.

HappyGrape

I would talk to his doctor and ask for referral to registered dietitian if you feel he have weight issues. Looking for diet advise for this age on internet forum isn't a good idea. You will get so much bad advise, and while adult have some ability to filter some of it - if I had concern about my son I would look for professional advise

If he wants to be healthy, and his weight is healthy (it sounds like it is to me), try to teach him to cook for himself, encourage him to eat fruit and veggies and this type of activities, calorie counting isn't necessary at all for healthy growing child without weight issues. In fact, it's little concerning if he is healthy weight

Macy9336

I agree with asking for a doctor to do a dietician referral. 13yo is old enough to learn portion size and General amounts of food to eat along with incorporating veg and fruit etc. But calorie counting is really best left forvwhen they are older. I introduced my 16yo to it because she was trying to eat healthy but instead of underestimating calories she was way over estimating calories. She also had no clue how much she should eat each day or that she should eat back the calories she's exercised off if she want to build muscle ( she is naturally quite skinny, has been since birth). It's really helped her with her eating habits.

STEVE142142

You need to talk to a doctor about that. For a young kid to go on a diet I wouldn't recommend it because the kid is growing and he's physically developing.

Also healthy is very subjective term. You have to clarify what you mean by healthy. What I mean by that is you could have the perfect BMI index but have high blood pressure or diabetes or you can be overweight and your blood pressure and sugar levels are normal. Who's the healthier person overweight with good blood pressure and good sugar levels or the skinny person with high blood pressure and diabetes.

Xymheia

I agree that this is best discussed with your family physician. How much energy he needs depends on his activity level and shoots up when he's in a growth spurt. If he wants to be fit and healthy, you can start with finding sports that he'd like to do and prepare meals with fresh ingredients. Generally avoid highly processed foods, though the occasional indulgence should be fine. As far as I'm aware (I'm not a physician though) you should not restrict calories with children unless they're overweight, eating a lot of fast food/candy etc., and always do this under guidance of their physician. Usually the body is right when it tells someone to eat, so I wouldn't be too concerned with how much he's eating as long as he has a good appetite and is at a healthy weight for his age and height - which he appears to be right now.

DietPrada

What "problem" exactly. He is in a healthy weight range. I hope you haven't told him he has a problem. He's a kid, leave him be. Put healthy food on the table, make it available in your house and teach him that chips and lollies and takeaway are a "treat" not an every day thing. That's all you need to do. Do NOT worry about "how many calories" he should be consuming.

snickerscharlie

Definitely speak to your doctor about your concerns. People here on MFP can only address issues concerning adults.

pinuplove

At 13, he shouldn't be maintaining, at least not for long. He's in the prime growth age for boys. When you say he wants to 'start being healthy' what exactly do you mean? Any idea what is driving this desire?

LKArgh

Why is this child not healthy? In what sense does he want to start being healthy? At this age, I would expect a child's health to be the concern and responsibility mainly of the parents?