Nearly 75 percent of children 5 to 17 years of age have at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Unfortunately, many schools provide an abundance of unhealthy snack options for kids to nosh on between meals. Healthy snacks in the cafeteria can boost test scores, reduce obesity risk and optimize health and development.
Nutrition
A growing body needs an abundance of nutrients. Fruits and vegetables are ideal sources of vitamins and minerals like zinc, calcium, vitamin C and B-complex vitamins, which are important for health and development. Unfortunately, most kids don't meet the recommendation of five fruit and veggie servings per day. Because most kids need to bump up their fruit and vegetable intake, snacks should consist of sliced bell peppers, bananas and oranges, for example.
Obesity
The amount of calories that children get in the form of snacks ballooned by 120 calories per day between 1977 and 1996, the Center for Science in the Public Interest notes. Their report adds that unhealthy vending machine options -- which tend to be high in sugar and calories and low in vitamins and fiber -- are partly responsible for the childhood obesity epidemic. Switching to healthy snacks may reduce obesity rates in children, reports Gregory Killough of Carlington Community and Health Services. In research published in the July 2010 issue of the "Revista Brasileira de Saúde Materno Infantil," Killough found that a school-based health promotion program that emphasized healthy snacking significantly reduced obesity rates.
Adult Health
Healthy habits acquired in childhood largely carry over into adulthood. Eating healthy snacks as a child can help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease by cementing healthy eating habits early in life. "Time" magazine reports that overweight children are at heightened risk of premature death from chronic disease as an adult. In a paper published in the September 1997 issue of the "The New England Journal of Medicine," R. Whitaker of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine found that obese children are often obese as adults.
School Performance
Children who are well nourished perform better at school, reports a paper published in the November 2007 issue of the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association." Children who eat a healthy diet that limits unhealthy snacks tend to perform better than peers who eat an unhealthy diet. Getting adequate vitamins and minerals in the form of healthy snacks supports cognitive development, learning and memory.
References
- Centers for Disease Control: Childhood Obesity
- "Revista Brasileira de Saúde Materno Infantil": Pause-2-Play: a pilot school-based obesity prevention program
- Center for the Science in the Public Interest: Healthy School Snacks
- Time: Lifelong Effects of Childhood Obesity
- Medical News Today: Nutrition Improves Learning And Memory In Schoolchildren
- The New England Journal of Medicine: Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity
Member Comments