Q: This is with regard to diet for 3 year old boy child. Would giving him 2 eggs a day be good? He eats potato filled chapatis as one meal of the day and rice mixed with dal and ghee as another one. This has been the routine diet of the child (my brothers child), he also needs chicken or fish everyday. Would this type of diet cause the child to be more fat and later obese? He insists on at least 3 glasses of milk a day. He also drinks a lot of cola drinks. We would like your kind advice because a lot of people have begun to say this is not a good diet for a child of this age. If so, what substitutes could be given? Or could this be a hereditary factor as the mothers side all eat really well and are well built.

A:A 3 year old child should weigh about 12-14 kgs and should be eating 3 meals a day and drinking milk only twice a day. The meals should contain adequate calories, protein, carbohydrate and fats. 2 eggs is too many on a regular, daily basis. From what I can see based on the information provided, there is no fresh fruit in the diet and nor is there any mention of any vegetables, especially green vegetables; these are essential. I would strongly suggest that coke, chips, chocolates and junk food should be avoided as far as possible.