Why is Healthy Eating
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More and more children in the United States are overweight. Our culture encourages habits which cause people to become overweight. Parents need to protect their children from this very serious problem, by encouraging healthy eating and adequate exercise. Overweight children are less healthy than children of normal weight and the longer they remain overweight, the more likely they are to end up as obese adults. Among U.S. adults, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death (just behind tobacco use). Overweight children are far more likely than normal weight children to develop the following:
How can you tell if your child is overweight? A good indicator is your child's body mass index, or BMI, which we measure at all well child visits. If your child’s BMI is greater than the 85th percentile, your child is at risk for becoming overweight. If the BMI is over the 95th percentile, your child is overweight and is at risk for the serious health consequences listed above. It is the responsibility of parents and pediatricians to protect children from becoming overweight. Parents need to take responsibility for establishing healthy eating habits for their children and ensuring that their children get plenty of exercise. Suggestions based on your Childs Age
Breastfeed as long as you can, more than 3-6 months if possible. Many studies have shown that breastfeeding protects children from obesity later in life. If you are breastfeeding you should give your infant tri-vi-sol vitamins, one dropper a day. This supplements the supply of vitamin D to your infant. It is not necessary to give tri-vi-sol if you are giving over 8 ounces of formula per day, since vitamin D is added to formula. You can buy tri-vi-sol without a prescription at most pharmacies. Never add cereal to your
infant’s bottle unless your pediatrician
has instructed you to add cereal to treat gastro-esophogeal reflux. Do not introduce juice. Your baby needs only breastmilk or formula, and water once a cup has been introduced. Even if you are a member of the WIC program and WIC offers you juice, we recommend that you do not give it to your infant. Introduce a sippy cup between 8-10 months. Water, breastmilk, or formula can be given in the cup. Infants who receive bottles should, at least on occasion, receive formula or breastmilk from the cup, so that they understand that the bottle is not the only source of milk. Babies who are never given milk from a cup often reject milk drinking as toddlers, when they are weaned from the bottle. We want to encourage a lifelong habit of drinking milk. Continue breastmilk and/or formula until 12 months old. Infants should not be switched to whole milk until they are 1 years old.
Nutritional: Beverages should include only milk (whole milk until two years old, then skim or 1% milk), water, and a small (4-6 oz.) serving a day of orange juice, not from concentrate. Do not give apple juice, lemonade, sports drinks, soda, or other juices. These beverages are too high in sugar, even if they are 100% juice. Remember: EAT fruit; DRINK milk and water. Toddlers should be weaned from
the bottle by age 2, but many are ready to be weaned as early as
12 months. Give milk in the
sippy cup at each meal to establish a habit of drinking milk that
will continue after your toddler has been weaned from the bottle. Do not become a short order cook. Offer your toddler a variety of healthy foods, preferably the same healthy foods you are preparing for the rest of the family. Let your child decide how much to eat. Do not prepare a different meal if he or she is not hungry for what has been offered. Try to avoid giving the same foods at every meal, with the exception of fresh fruits and vegetables. It is perfectly ok for children to eat very little at a given meal. They will make up for it when they are truly hungry. Be prepared to throw away uneaten food. Most toddlers will usually eat only a few good meals over the course of a week. Avoid empty calories like plain pasta, plain white rice, and white bread. Always put a nutritious sauce on pasta. Offer whole-grain bread and brown rice right from the start, so that your child never learns to prefer less nutritious foods. Avoid introducing fast-food. Your child should not eat from fast-food restaurants more than once a month. Avoid foods that contain trans fats. Check the ingredients of packaged foods before buying them. Avoid foods whose ingredients include “partially dehydrogenated soybean oil.” This is a very unhealthy form of fat. Make breakfast a nutritious meal. Do not introduce
sugary cereals. Before buying breakfast cereal, check
the nutrition label on the package. It should contain less
than 9
grams of sugar per serving. Establish healthy television and screen habits. Screen time should occupy less than 1 hour per day. The television should never be on during meals. Snacks should be eaten at the kitchen or dining-room table, not in front of the television. Behavioral: Do not use food as a reward or punishment If your family eats dessert, do not require that your child finish the meal in order to have dessert. Just keep the dessert portion small, so that your child doesn't depend on it to fill up. Do not push children to eat more than they want. Encourage them to recognize when they are full. No "clean plate club." Provide parental modeling of a healthy diet (emphasizing vegetables), physical activity, and minimal television viewing. Offer positive reinforcement for healthy choices and avoid criticism. Establish regular family mealtimes and eat together whenever possible. Avoid using food as a way of keeping children busy. Avoid snacks in the car. Nutritional: Beverages should include only skim or 1% milk, water and a small (4-6 oz.) daily serving of orange juice, not from concentrate. Do not give apple juice, lemonade, sports drinks, soda or other juices. These beverages are too high in sugar. Remember: EAT fruit, DRINK milk and water. Do not become a short order cook. Offer your child a variety of healthy foods. Let your child decide how much to eat. Do not prepare a different meal if he or she is not hungry for what has been offered. Try to avoid giving the same foods at every meal, with the exception of fruits and vegetables. Avoid empty calories like plain pasta, plain white rice, and white bread. Always put a nutritious sauce on pasta. Don't let your child convince you to provide the "white food" diet. When you serve a meal, fruits and vegetables should occupy half the plate. One quarter of the plate should contain the protein (meat, fish, beans or tofu). The remaining quarter of the plate can contain starch (bread, rice, noodles, or potatoes). Seconds should be available of the protein or fruit/vegetable part of the meal only, not the starch portion. Children should at least five half cup servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Avoid fast-food! Limit it to once a month or less. Beware of take-out, which tends to be too high in fat and salt and comes in unreasonably large portions. Avoid trans fats. If you are buying pre-packaged foods, read the list of ingredients first. Do not buy foods which list the ingredient “partially dehydrogenated soybean oil”. This is a very unhealthy form of fat. Serve a nutritious, low-sugar breakfast. Skipping breakfast interferes with a child's school performance and causes excessive eating later in the day. High sugar breakfasts (like those consisting of sugary cereals) cause a dramatic drop in blood sugar soon after consumption, which can result in your child’s feeling tired, grouchy, and inappropriately hungry. Beware of school lunches. They can be very high in fat and are often non-nutritious. Consider packing your child's lunch instead. Physical activity: Offer options, including individual sports or activities like martial arts or dance, if team sports are impractical for your family or your child does not enjoy them. Participate in physical activities with your children: recreational sports, outdoor play, walking, or bicycling. Limit screen time: television, plus non-homework computer time, plus video, plus game system should be less than 1-2 hours per day. There should NEVER be a television in a child's bedroom. All children should learn to swim. It is great exercise and makes them much safer around water. Behavioral: Try to enjoy at least the evening meal together as a family at the dinner table. The television should never be on during mealtime! Avoid cooking special meals for kids. Serve everyone the same nutritious meal. Do not use food as a reward or punishment. If your family eats dessert, do not require that your child finish the meal in order to have dessert. Just keep the dessert portion small, so that your child doesn't depend on it to fill up. Do not push children to eat more than they want. Encourage them to recognize when they are full. No "clean plate club." Provide parental modeling of a healthy diet (emphasizing vegetables), physical activity, and minimal television viewing. Offer positive reinforcement for healthy choices and avoid criticism. Don't allow your children to eat on the run. Both meals and snacks should be eaten with food on plates, sitting at a table, whenever possible. Food should not be eaten in front of the television. Nutritional: Beverages should include skim or lowfat milk, water, and not-from-concentrate orange juice, in small portions. Don't let your teen develop a soda habit (even diet). Discourage consuming the drinks offered at places like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. They are very high in fat and empty calories. Sports drinks are not healthy and are high in sugar. They should be consumed only when sports are being played on very hot days. Water is a better option to maintain hydration under most circumstances. Insist on a nutritious breakfast. Skipping meals leads to out-of-control eating later in the day. Encourage square meals rather than "grazing." Adolescents should eat at least 5 half cup servings of fruits and vegetables per day and should consume plenty of calcium, in the form of lowfat milk, yogurt, cheese, or dark green vegetables. When you serve a meal, fruits and vegetables should occupy half the plate. One quarter of the plate should contain the protein (meat, fish, beans or tofu). The remaining quarter of the plate can be starch (bread, rice, noodles, or potatoes). Seconds should be available of the protein or fruit/vegetable part of the meal only, not the starch portion of the meal. Physical Activity: Offer options, including individual sports, like martial arts or dance, if team sports are not practical or enjoyed by your family or teen. Participate in physical activities with your teen: recreational sports or outdoor activity in the form of walking or bicycling. Limit screen time: television, plus non-homework computer time, plus video, plus game system, should occupy less than 1-2 hours per day. There should never be a television or computer in an adolescent’s bedroom. Behavioral: Continue to have family meals together at the dining table. Don't allow your adolescent to take food into the TV room or the bedroom. The television should never be on during mealtime. Discourage your adolescent from eating on the run. The same rules of healthy eating should apply to the whole family. An overweight child should not be singled out for healthy eating and exercise. Everyone in the family should follow the same healthy habits. Prepare healthy meals that the whole family
eats together. Don’t
serve special foods for an overweight child. Everyone benefits
from healthy eating. Decide on two or three specific, small changes in eating or physical activity that you can make, and try to stick with them. Don't expect perfection. If your goal is to take a family walk five days a week, and you miss a day, that's okay. What's important is that you are making a healthy change. Put the fork down between bites. Take time to chew and swallow one bite before taking another. Make portion sizes smaller. Consider using smaller plates. If your child wants seconds, have him wait five minutes to see if he's still hungry. Seconds should be from the fruits/vegetables or protein part of the meal. Avoid seconds of starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. There should not be seconds of dessert. |
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100 Highland Ave, Milton, MA 02186
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