Header should actually be "Teen Flips Out Over Reduced Snack And Candy Portions, People Online Take His Side". People here don't seem to do, the majority gets the point of the mother. Which is unlimited fruit, veg and sandwiches - and family shared cooked meals; as the latter requires planning and time to prepare three times a day for in total 6 persons, a reasonable strategy. (edit:typo)

1. Start a food diary for a few days and see what he actually DOES eat (what food, portion sizes etc) and not what you THINK he eats. Get an accurate picture. 2. If he truly is getting a high caloric intake, check to see if he ever actually feels satiated. If he never has a sense of being 'full', that could be significant. 3. See a doctor AND a nutritionist if he never feels full or if his actual caloric intake is unusually high. The nutritionist can advise of foods that are healthy but will help he feel satiated. The doctor can screen for different issues if that is a possibility. I've heard of Prader-Willi syndrome, but that's rare. And, heck, tapeworms can be a thing.

The mother explained that he eats simply because he wants to, because he "likes to eat." She doesn't starve him at all and she lets him get fruit and healthy meals as much as he wants. The kid is just having a teenage tantrum because he wants to stuff himself with candy and snacks all day. And finally, if the teenager in question was a girl, everyone would take the mother's side by saying that "it's for her good" and would surely already be talking about "eating disorders" but here it's a boy then "it's natural Bla Bla it's normal Bla Bla metabolism Bla Bla let him eat" He will survive lol

The OP mentioned her son plays basketball regularly; if he's an active athlete then the excessive protein and calorie intake might make sense. Teens eat like it's going out of style but the family doesn't have an unlimited budget and their needs to be some snacks and dinner left for the younger kids. Considering he's getting three meals, with two servings, plus all the sandwiches and carrot sticks or apple slices he can eat I'd say that should be enough for even a football player. Some gave suggested he might have a metabolic issue but I'm putting my money on the kid having 'the munchies'. Getting high with his friends, coming home and eating everything he can stuff in his mouth while lying on the couch.

Just because someone is a healthy weight, doesn't mean they're healthy. He's eating 6/7 proteins a day with unlimited healthy snacks and sandwiches. That's without the rest. Fancy saying someone is an a*****e because she doing the right thing. That amount that he was eating will pile on him in a few years. A weeks worth of snacks in a day???? He's a brat who needs to stop acting like a little boy. The younger ones were fine with it. Grow up. I will say that "this shouldn't have got this bad though"

my 4 kids with very high metabolisms ate a lot. 3 boys 1 girl, there was always a limit to snacky things but cereal fruit etc were at their will as much as possible. Single mom here so there is only so much money. I could bring home bags of food and have it gone in no time. I feel her pain but she is NOT starving her son.

The people saying NTA never had a teenager. When my kids were teenagers, they ate SO much food! It's a phase. When they get a little older and their metabolism slows down, it goes back to normal.

Who would go to reddit before going to a nutritionist?

Check if he's diabetic.

I don't think that people understand how much a teen can eat, especially if he's into sports. Once We had my cousin who was 15 at the time stay with us while his parents went on a month-long trip over the pond. He was playing water polo. That kid could eat an ungodly amount of food for every meal. I'm talking about owen-sized pizza for lunch, and an hour later he was already digging through the fridge. Desert? A jar of Nutella with no problem. He was 0% fat, only muscles. OP said that her kid plays a lot of basketball. It might be a similar situation, and it's hard to believe to a normal person how much food is necessary for some young athletes.

Should check to see if he's hyperthyroid. My son started eating like that and we tried things like OP did but then we discovered he was hyperthyroid and was literally starving to death no matter how much he ate. Once on proper medication he got more normal.

I have a 14 yo boy and my lord does he eat. I would never limit what he eats.

OP says that the food combined fills up a plate. That's clearly not enough food. Also, it depends on what food she's serving and how its prepared.

I'm really glad my mother never tried to limit how much we had to eat. My younger brother hit a growth spurt and ate double what an adult would eat in a day, we would go out to eat and he would order two meals instead of one. He's now 6 ft 2 and still lean like he always has been. And no eating disorders in my family...

OP needs to emphasize to the grandparents that she is only limiting packaged snacks- that fruits/veggies/ sandwiches are always available for the teen. OP also needs to remember that an active, healthy weight teen is NOT overeating- he might be eating more than his fair share of snacks ( and meal portions that need to be shared with siblings) and THAT is what needs to be emphasized to any interested parties...

I would look into any possible disabilites. There are some disabilities that effect your body's ability to feel cues - so he might not be able to tell when he's hungry or full. Eating disorders are also common with ADHD, and there might be some sort of oral stimming in the eating.

NTA, if he's eating that much he won't be healthy for long. There is a problem there, medical, psychological or rebellion but if a serving is a healthy size then he doesn't need all those snacks and extra helpings