The Hindu Business Line : <I>Waiting for weight-gain </I>

My 11-year-old son weighs only 29 kg and his very slow increase in weight is a cause of concern. He's a very active child but is allergic to dust, chilled items etc. He plays tennis regularly, good at the game but requires more power. Suggest diet to increase weight to help his game.

Susan, e-mail

Here is the answer from Dr W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, R&D, DRDO Life Sciences, and Ms Deepa Prakash, CEO Nutreplanet, Bangalore:

Please do not get perturbed by the weight of your child, it could be due to simple problems which can be easily set right by nutrition intervention. Low weight sometimes reflects poor muscle mass in a child, this could be one of the reasons since he is allergic to dust and is susceptible to frequent colds — infections in our body cost us and our physiology uses up a lot of energy to fight infections resulting in reduced muscle mass. A diet rich in proteins, carbohydrates and immunoprotectors will help him. High biological value protein foods such as pulses, legumes, sprouts, soy, meat, eggs etc need to be given at least twice a day. According to the principles of Ayurvedic Nutrition — Amla is a wonderful immunoprotector. Gooseberries, dried and powdered or fresh can form a daily teaspoon full for your child. Please have your child dewormed regularly.

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