Q Why does my picky-eating child eat little and barely gain weight?
A This reflects a spleen-stomach qi deficiency with weakened digestion and absorption. When food intake is low, nutrition decreases and growth slows.
Detailed Answer
When picky eating and small appetite appear together, Korean medicine views this as an overall deficiency of spleen-stomach (bi-wi) energy. When the spleen and stomach are weak, the power to digest and absorb food is insufficient, so fullness comes quickly even with small portions, ultimately reducing nutrient absorption and affecting weight and growth. The same pattern can also appear when accumulated undigested food (sik-jeok) chronically obstructs the stomach.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At Dongjedang, for children with both picky eating and poor growth, we use prescriptions that simultaneously consider strengthening the spleen-stomach and generating qi and blood. Once digestive and absorptive capacity recovers, the same amount of food yields different nutrition for the body, and we frequently see improvement in the weight-gain curve.
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