Too many school kids are overscheduled, undernourished and overfed, and paying a high price for it. The cost of poor nutrition is overweight, obesity, poor health and poor grades. Breakfast launches a kid into a school day and should contain healthy carbs for slow-burning energy. The lunchbox should deliver some protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Snacks should be a reinforcement of good nutrition, not a recess from it. Fast food and French fries get an "F" on the nutrition test.
Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Feeding children a healthy diet means providing a variety of foods with lots of whole grains, fresh fruits and green vegetables. Kids should skip the high fructose corn syrup, extra sugars, most saturated and all trans fats and high-salt foods. Serve low-fat dairy and green vegetables for calcium to support growing bones and include plenty of iron sources --- spinach salads and spinach lasagna are kid-friendly. A bowl of fresh fruit on the table is a temptation to eat something nutritious. Family meals without interruptions from electronic devices encourage family time and peaceful digestion instead of overstimulation and inattentive overconsumption.
Snacks Count
Snacks should be water, fruit, raw nuts and vegetables like celery or carrot sticks, whole grains or plain popcorn, rice cakes and diluted fruit juice. Low-fat yogurt, without sugary additives, is a nutritious quick energy boost. Mix it with a bit of maple syrup and top with fresh berries. Try trail mix, cubed fruit and low-fat, low-sugar granola bars. Unhealthy snacks include chips, soft drinks, candy, ice cream and most commercial baked goods. Healthy snacks buck heavy-duty marketing trends, so prepare to stand your ground. This is a tougher regime to impose the older your kids are; start them with healthy eating habits while they are young.
Childhood Obesity
Nearly one in three American children today is overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the past three decades, the rate of childhood obesity has tripled; researchers predict that a third of all children born in 2000 will develop diabetes later in life, and many more will endure asthma, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses. The government has launched an all-out offensive on childhood obesity called "Let's Move!" It's a comprehensive campaign to improve kid's diets, community awareness, school lunch options and fitness. Along with dietary guidelines, there are recommendations to cut screen time --- American kids sit looking at screens for 7.5 hours a day --- increase walking and vigorous exercise and cut portion sizes to trim unhealthy weight gain.
Eat Your Breakfast
Children who eat breakfast have higher overall nutrition quality in their diets, according to a study by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. The school children studied who ate breakfast at home or somewhere other than school or participated in the free school breakfast program scored significantly higher on quality of healthy diet measures than kids who skipped breakfast. Children who ate breakfast were more likely to have higher grain, fruit, milk and food variety ratings and an overall nutritionally adequate daily diet.
Junk Food Fails the Test
The London "Telegraph" reported on a study that showed British kids who ate sweets, fries and chicken nuggets from the time they were small did poorly in school. Those 6- to 10-year-old children were 10 percent more likely than their classmates to fail. Researchers theorize that junk food displaces healthier foods that help with brain building and that poor toddler, preschool and school age nutrition is a predictor for lifelong low academic achievement.
References
- USDA Let's Move: Parents' Action Plan
- USDA Let's Move: The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity
- Keep Kids Healthy: Food Guide Pyramid
- The Telegraph: Junk Food Diet Makes Children More Likely to Fail at School
- USDA: Eating Breakfast Greatly Improves Children's Diet Quality
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: Healthy Snacks
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