Helping Your Child Eat Healthy

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that as of 2007, only one state had a childhood obesity rate of less than 20%. Teaching children to eat right can be a challenge, especially in today's world of fast food, television commercials, and poorly balanced school lunches. Children have more choices in food than ever before, and often that is not a good thing. Eating right is a learned behavio that most children do not learn on their own without consistent supervision.

I am a nutrition specialist, and the most common reason parents give me for their children not eating healthy is that their children don't like them. The line of thought being that the child must eat, and therefore you must give the child what the child will eat. This is an erroneous line of thought. Children are taught in large part what to like and dislike, and also what they can get away with. Children are not born with a genetic disposition to only a few foods, they learn what they like and dislike with exposure. A great example of this is that children of one culture, adopted by parents of another culture at a young age, will eat whatever the adoptive family eats. The adopted child is not genetically predisposed to liking the foods of it's own culture, or disliking those of another culture. Similarly, children are not genetically predisposed to dislike healthy food.

Allowing children to make so many decisions about their diet is a very new trend, and one that is helping further the already skyrocketing incidence of childhood obesity and diabetes. When I am talking to parents about their children's nutrition, I often hear that a child will, for example, not eat chicken, fish, or vegetables. The parent, exasperated, gives the child what he or she will eat instead, perhaps macaroni and cheese. This giving in by the parent is teaching the child that refusing to partake in a healthy behavior allows them to partake in the unhealthy behavior they desire, and sets them up for very negative consequences like diabetes, obesity, osteoarthritis, and a host of other issues.

The solution isn't difficult, but it can be hard to stick to: Allergies aside, the child eats what is provided or doesn't eat. A child is not going to starve to death by missing one meal, and it rarely takes more than two of three times of enforcing this rule for the child to eat what is on the table. To carry this out, a parent must prepare a good, solid, balanced meal with a few side options. The child is allowed to choose as much or as little of each dish as he or she likes, but must at least try every dish.

Children, and indeed many adults, may have a preference for sugary or processed foods. This makes sense once you know that sugar and simple starches set off an addiction type reaction in the body, which causes overeating and storage of fats. Part of teaching a child healthy eating habits is to help them understand that things like candy bars and ice cream are treats, and to treat them as such.

The next key is to talk to the child about their food. When they say they do not like something, ask them why. Work with them to figure out if it's texture, color, presentation, or a certain type of flavor. Keep a note of these things, and there is almost always a pattern. Try preparing the food they didn't like in a new way next time you cook it, and see if that changes their answer.

There are some other keys and tips to helping your child eat well:

Offer your child healthy snacks, and keep sugary items for rare treats. A choice between an apple, banana, or a slice of cheese is a completely reasonable selection of snack options. If the child declines all of the healthy options, they are not hungry-they are looking for some other type of fulfillment. The same is true if they refuse water or low-sugar flavored drinks because they want soda or juice. It will take a while for them to re-acclimate their taste buds to healthy food, so be prepared for some possible tantrums. Stand your ground, and they will pass.

Buy fresh, flavorful foods. Make sure the fruits and vegetables you purchase are ripe and fresh. Children do not have a natural aversion to fruits and vegetables, but almost all people have an aversion to bad food. Try new foods with your children, including fun fruits and vegetables.

Do not overcook foods. People often dislike the way foods are prepared, rather than the foods itself; however, if they've never had it prepared well, they often do not realize this. Over cooked fish is dry and tasteless, but appropriately cooked fish is firm and full of rich flavor. Mushy vegetables can make almost anyone dislike healthy foods, but crisp, fresh vegetables full of color and zest are a treat.

Let children help. Encourage children to find new healthy foods to try. Take them to the grocery store and let them pick a new fruit or vegetable, then research what to do with it together. When they are old enough, let them help in the kitchen. Eventually, they should take over preparing a meal or two a week for the family, with plenty of praise for trying new and healthy recipes.

Explore other ethnic cuisines. Many countries eat a far healthier diet than the standard American fare. Cooking Indian, Thai, or Japanese gives your whole family a chance to expand their understanding of food, find additional foods they like, and keeps dinner interesting.

Feed your children whole foods, not processed foods. Whole foods, on average, take longer to digest because they are higher in fiber than processed foods. This keeps children full longer, helping curb the desire to sweets. Whole foods are usually lower in simple carbohydrates, helping quell insulin resistance.

Do not hide foods. Some people recommend "hiding' healthy foods kids don't like by using things such as puree'd vegetables in foods they do, and not telling them. This may get vegetables into your child, but it is not addressing the root problem and it is not helping them learn to eat healthy foods. The goal is to educate your child and your child's palette to make good decisionst throughout their life, to appreciate and seek out good, healthful food. Fooling them into eating vegetables means your child is not learning these lessons.

Give kids a snack. Giving children a small, healthy snack such as a piece of fruit, cheese, cottage cheese, raw vegetables, or milk between meals will help keep their energy up and their desire for sugary snacks lower.

Limit the amount of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) they intake. HFCS causes the human body to store fat rather than burn it, can cause insulin resistence that causes carbohydrate addiction, and can raise triglycerides. This is especially important at breakfast, since most children will be going to school where they'll be getting very little exercise for several hours after breakfast.

Pack a lunch. School lunches in most of the country are virtually nutritionally void, and full of HFCS, simple carbohydrates, and preservatives. There are many creative lunch options for brown-bag lunches that will offer your child a balanced meal that is tasty and fun to eat. Try making a bento box for a great change of pace.

Encourage physical exercise. Activity helps a child burn fat, but also helps curb hunger. When a child is involved in exercise, their metabolism is boosted. Sitting in front of the TV is a perfect chance to snack for children, and replacing some of this down time with more vigorous activities limits the opportunities for kids to eat because they are bored. Vigorous exercise that heats up the body can supress hunger for several hours, in addition to burning calories and boosting metabolism.

Practice moderation. Your child will discover sugar and starch at some point, so teach them to eat it responsibly. A candy bar occasionally, in conjunction with an overall good diet, is fine. Help them make good decisions, and also to learn that occasionally indulging is okay. Too hard a line on food can backfire with an eating disorder, so strive to show your child that the key is balance. A good diet is what lets us eat the occasional treat without detriment to our body.

Start Now. The younger a child is, the easier it is to teach them good eating habits. Start young.

References & Resources:

Obesity & Overweight. US Obesity Trends, 1985-2007. US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Obesity & Overweight. Health Consequences. US Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

JoLynn Braley. What Is High Fructose Corn Syrup, and Why Is It Bad For Me. The Fitshack.com

Drs. Richard and Rachel Heller. Carbohydrate Addiction Defined. Carbohydateaddicts.com

Mimi Sheraton. The Terribly Wrong Message Sent By Jessica Seinfeld and Missy Chase Lapine. Slate.com

Bento Lunch Community. Livejournal.com