Medical Questions » Children Questions » Question No. 199
| Question: | My two year old is very small, and appears to be underweight for his age. What could be the cause, as I look after him very well? |
| Answer: | The firsr thing to do is to have your child' s height and weight compared with those of other children. This can be done by a doctor using statistical tables. The height of you and your husband will also be checked to see what his genetic height is likely to be.
If a significant abnormality is found, investigations will be undertaken to determine the cause. These are extremely varied and include chronic infections, gut infestations (eg. worms), heart disease, cystic fibrosis, food allergies and intolerance and a host of other rarer conditions.
Child neglect and abuse is something that doctors have to be careful of in this situation also. If there is a problem, it can be dealt with once a cause is found.
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