The Link between Regular Meals and Children Obesity
December 2nd, 2009
The first thing that all children need, regardless of age, are regular meals-breakfast, lunch and dinner, with healthy snacks in between. What you choose to serve at these meals will determine your child’s overall health and their weight. So it’s important to get it right. Obviously some children are not natural breakfasters, and may sleepily baulk at anything you offer.
Lunch is often an area of difficulty, too, as many children eat at school and are therefore beyond the control of parents. But there are ways around this. You normally have the option of sending in a packed lunch, the contents of which you can choose with your child to ensure that he likes it enough to eat it. In this way, you can make sure your child is getting a lunch that supplies him with the nutrients he needs and one that is less likely to cause weight problems. Alternatively, you can negotiate with your child to ensure that the choices he makes at school are largely healthy. For example, agree on chips once a week and at least three fruits or vegetables alongside his main course. Many schools will supply you with a menu for the week (and this often stays the same, week in and week out), and you can sit down with your child and work out the best and healthiest options.
Even if a child has a hot lunch at school, it doesn’t mean that he can go without a meal for dinner. For one thing, there is a strong possibility that the lunch he chose may have been typical children’s fare that did not contain the nutrients he needs. So you’ll need to make up for a poor lunch at dinner time. And even if he does eat a good lunch, he’ll still need a nutritious dinner. For the record, nutritious doesn’t necessarily mean ‘hot’. A cold, picnic-style meal can be equally good for your child – and often lower in the types of fats that we want children to avoid.
Snacks are also important for growing children’s well-being. They help to sustain blood sugar levels, thus preventing cravings, and help to keep your child’s metabolism stable. However, the choice of snacks is crucial – they must not be regarded as ‘extras’, but as elements of a carefully planned diet. In other words, they must be nutritious, low in unhealthy fats, salt and sugar – and contribute some vitamins and minerals to your child’s diet. We tend to think of snacks as being fun foods – crisps, chocolate, biscuits, and so on – so it’s not surprising that children are given these treats to get them through the morning at school, or to tide them over when they get home. In the end, they add nothing to a child’s diet but empty calories. They also tend to play havoc with blood sugar levels, causing them to soar and then drop, which leads to fatigue, cravings for sweet foods and mood swings.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/the-link-between-regular-meals-and-children-obesity-1533216.html
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