Instilling Healthy Eating Habits in Children
Learning how to eat healthy is probably the most important component in your quest for proper weight management. You are probably very confused about all the contradictory information in the media, the different FAD diets, and the many conflicting recommendations from so called "experts".
In this website we do not talk about going on a "diet", rather, we intend to educate parents about proper nutrition and how to instill healthy eating habits in their family. You will learn about the basics of nutrition, about which foods to choose and which to stay away from, about the importance of not only the quality of the food but also the quantity of what you eat. The idea is that you want to make the RIGHT CHOICES for your family.
Learn more about a complete weight management program for children and teens.
What is a calorie?
The food that you eat is broken down by your body into energy, which is
measured in units called calories. When you eat more food (calories)
than what your body needs, the extra calories are stored in your body as
fat.
What are carbohydrates?
- Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that can be found in cakes, ice cream, candy, cookies and doughnuts. It is important to limit the intake of these foods since they are calorie rich and nutrient poor.
- Starches are complex carbohydrates that are found mainly in rice, potatoes, breads, pasta, fruits, beans, and vegetables. They usually also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Complex carbohydrates are absorbed more slowly by your body than simple sugars and provide more energy for a longer period of time.
What are proteins?
Proteins are the essential building blocks of life needed to form muscles, organs, skin, hair, and for the production of hormones and antibodies. Proteins can be found in meats, fish, poultry, dairy products, beans, and some grains.
What are fats?
There are two kinds of fats:
Saturated fats include hydrogenated fats and trans-fatty acids. They are found mostly in junk food and fast food. Saturated fats may raise cholesterol levels in blood and are most often linked to chronic diseases such as heart disease and obesity
Unsaturated fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
- Monounsaturated fats are found in olive, peanut and canola oils, most nuts, avocados, and salmon.
- Polyunsaturated fats are found in most vegetable oils (corn sunflower, soybean).
Fats have more than double the calories of carbohydrates and proteins.
While it is important to include some fat in your child's diet, it is essential to remember that too much fat can increase your child's chances of becoming obese or raising cholesterol to unhealthy levels. This can increase your child's risk of developing heart disease and/or high blood pressure in the future.
| 1 Gram of Carbohydrates | 4 Calories |
| 1 Gram of Protein | 4 Calories |
| 1 Gram of Fat | 9 Calories |
PORTION SIZE EXAMPLES
| Meat/fish/poultry | an amount the size of a pack of cards or the palm of a hand. It should be about 3 ounces or ¼ plate. |
| Vegetables | about ½ plate, which is about ½ cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of raw vegetables. |
| Rice/pasta/potatoes | ½ cup, maximum ¼ plate. |
How to read a nutritional label:
There are other terms or claims that you might see on a label that you need to be aware of their meaning.
TERM:
| Low fat | 3 grams of fat or less |
| Fat-free | Less than 0.5g of fat |
| Reduced fat | At least 25% less fat than the comparable product |
| Low calorie | 40 calories or less |
| Calorie free | Less than 5 calories |
| Light/Lite | 1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat than the original product |
IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO LOOK FOR
- Serving size: the amount of food you would need to eat to get the amount of nutrients listed.
- Servings per container: this will tell you the number of total servings in the bag or container.
- Total calories: this will show you the number of calories per serving.
- Calories from fat: this should always be less than 30% of the total calories.
- Total fat: choose a low-fat product (3 grams of fat or less).
- Saturated and trans fat: Limit intake to less than 10% of the total calories, ideally it should be 0g.
- Cholesterol: ideally it should be 0mg.
- Total carbohydrates: carbohydrates should provide approximately 50% to 60% of your total caloric intake per day. To be considered low-carb it must have less than 5g.
- Dietary fiber: a necessary part of a healthy diet. Ideally it should be 2.5g to 5.0g per serving.
- Protein: should make up 15% to 25% of your daily caloric intake.
- Sodium: limit to less than 2400 milligrams per day.
- Percent Daily Value: this shows you the percent (or how much) of the recommended daily amount of a nutrient you will get from eating one serving of the food. It is based on 2000 calories per day diet. If a food has 5% or less of a nutrient, it is considered to be low in that nutrient. If it contains more than 20% of a nutrient, it is considered high in that nutrient.
- Practice with the entire family reading the nutritional labels and discovering the nutritive values of different foods.
- Learn to have fun during dinner:
- Golden Rules:
- Make sure that the dinner table looks pretty (a few flowers, colorful napkins, etc.). Let the entire family be creative.
- Use smaller plates. They will give the impression of being fuller.
- Never use dinner time to scold or complain about each other.
- Make it a positive time together (i.e. where should the family go during the summer vacation, if you were the president what would you change about your country? etc).
- Involve everyone in the conversation. Remember, dinner is a family affair.
- No one gets up until all have finished. Use the time to learn about each other (i.e. family trees can be a lot of fun).
- Eat slowly, chewing the food thoroughly and putting the utensils on the table after each bite.
- Golden Rules:
- Learn new recipes and involve the entire family in the new project. Children love to be creative in the kitchen. Do make sure that they are safe and under supervision while they participate in the preparation of the food.
