The 3,000 calories a day baby

Baby Agatha Holloway who was born prematurely and underweight is eating food containing 20,000 calories every week to help her reach a healthy weight. Agatha must plough through at least 3,000 calories a day – 500 more than the NHS recommends for men – after she was born three months prematurely weighing just 3lb 11oz.

At the age of 16 months, she still weighs only 17lb and has been advised by a paediatric dietician to eat the three full meals a day as well as fatty snacks. Her diet typically includes porridge with clotted cream for breakfast and toast laden with chocolate spread, followed by midmorning snacks such as avocado and hummus.

Lunch usually consists of high fat roasted meats such as duck, lamb or pork, mashed potatoes with added cream, roasted vegetables in olive oil, and chocolate desserts and bananas.



The toddler has bagels spread in full fat cheese and chocolate fingers to keep her going through the afternoon. She then eats tuna, mash with butter and baked beans followed by rice pudding and clotted cream in the evening, followed by a bed time snack of porridge with clotted cream and custard.

Her mother Samantha, who longs to feed her fruit and vegetables, said: "It's hard, and against your natural instincts as a mother, which is to give your child healthy food." The 35-year-old management consultant from Cobham, Surrey, added: "But I know it's better than having her fed by tube.

"The dietician monitors everything and has told us there won't be any bad effects in the long term, as she'll eat healthy food when she's older.'