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[quote=Anonymous]OP - is this a new problem or been going on for a while? Also, how big/tall are they and has growth been on track? I find it odd that teenage boys are eating ice cream/cookies after school and maybe pizza for dinner and nothing else. Normally growing teenage boys need a ton of calories. I have a feeling they are eating at school; it may not be "lunch" per se but most schools have all sorts of junk available (chips/cookies etc.) that can be purchased even if you don't get the entree/veggie combo.

As for what to do at home - you're right that you can't cut out junk altogether, but you can control it. I know moms of teenage boys who buy a certain amount of junk food in one week -- 2 boxes of cookies, 2 bags of chips etc. -- whatever they deem to be appropriate for the family. The deal is they are adults and can eat however much they want but once it's gone, it's gone and you're not going shopping again for a week. So if they want to scarf down a whole row of Oreos each, they will be done that box by Tuesday. For the rest of the week, keep snacks like string cheese, granola bars, yogurt, PBJ/sandwich fixings etc. If they want to eat after school, they will be forced to pick one of these things. After a long time of unhealthy eating you can't just expect them to be ok with apples and bananas - but I would think that if they have no choice, they will grab a string cheese, make a sandwich etc.

For dinner - if they are  not cooking, they don't get a say; just don't order pizza/takeout. Either they eat what you cook or they can make another sandwich/PBJ etc. What do you think they'd say if you did that? Are they the types who will stomp around throwing a tantrum?

If you have health concerns (and you should - even if they aren't fat, their vitamins/minerals could be out of whack), I'd schedule a physical for each boy. You can speak to the dr. in advance about having huge concerns about eating habits, as I don't think teenage boys will want mom in the room with them. Let the dr. go over blood work, ask what they eat and have that discussion. Even if everything is fine, sometimes people do get embarassed getting grilled by a dr about these things and that can have a (mild) effect on behavior so that they don't have to have that convo again in 6 months-1 yr. [/quote]

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