Give children the foods you should be eating and everyone will benefit.
A
recent government report pointed out that the nation's children are
becoming obese and that pediatricians should be prepared to detect
excessive weight for height among children as young as 2.
One obvious cause is the eating habits of the parents.
No kid is going to snack on apple slices or carrots if his
parent is eating cookies. No child is going to be satisfied with
chicken and string beans for dinner if the parents are munching on
pizza, Chinese take out or cheeseburgers. And if the parent skips
breakfast, has a bagel and Diet Coke for lunch and never eats fruits or
vegetables at dinner, the children will assume that the four food
groups are restricted to meat, bread, diet soda and potatoes.
Children
learn by imitation and limitation. They will eat what they see others
in their environments eating and the foods they eat are limited to
those supplied by their parents and caretakers.
Cultural- and
religion-based food choices are passed on from parents to child, and
nutrition-based food choices can be transmitted as well. When parents
and older siblings eat meals rather than snacks, eat a large variety of
foods and do not make junk food dietary staples, the younger children
in the family will grow up imitating these eating patterns.
The
child's knowledge of what can be eaten is also limited by what is
available. An Italian friend of mine told me that when he was growing
up, he had no idea of what mayonnaise was until he went to elementary
school. His mother always used olive oil on his sandwiches. Children do
not have access to supermarkets. They can eat only those foods provided
by their parents or caregivers.
It is easy to prevent children
from eating the wrong foods and gaining unnecessary weight. Give them
the foods you should be eating and the whole family will benefit.
Judith
Wurtman PhD is a Research Scientist at MIT, the founder and director of
Harvard University's TRIAD Weight Management Center and a co-founder of
Back Bay Scientific. Dr. Wurtman received her Ph.D. in cell biology
from MIT, took additional training as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in
nutrition/obesity. She is currently co-director of ADARA Weight
Management Services. http://www.adaracenter.com
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