If your child suddenly starts picking at meals during a spell of hot weather, it can be unsettling. But a smaller appetite for a few days can be a normal response to heat, particularly if your child is drinking well, has their usual energy and seems otherwise healthy.

Research directly examining heat and appetite in children is limited. Studies in adults, together with experimental research into the biology of appetite, suggest that warmer conditions can reduce food intake and affect some of the brain systems involved in controlling hunger.

So there are several reasons why dinner may suddenly lose its appeal when temperatures climb.

Eating takes energy. After a meal, the body has to digest food, absorb its nutrients and process or store them. The resulting increase in energy expenditure is known as the thermic effect of food.

This process also produces heat. In warm conditions, when the body is already working to prevent its core temperature rising, this additional heat production may be one reason we feel less inclined to eat. Experimental studies in adults have found lower food intake in warmer environments, although the size of the effect varies and we cannot assume children respond in exactly the same way.

There may also be a connection within the brain itself. Research into the neural control of eating suggests that some of the circuits involved in sensing temperature are linked........

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