How to Raise Healthy Kids
The importance of starting early + some easy tips!
- Written by Joe Jackson
Obesity is a real problem in the UK, with the current estimated cases sitting at around 1 in every 4 adults. The term ‘obese’ describes a person with a BMI over 30 and who has excess body fat. This is not just a problem among adults, as around 1 in every 5 children aged 10 to 11 are also classified as obese. [1] When we delve deeper into the statistics around this issue, we can see the scale of the problem for children; 9.5% of reception age children are obese, with a further 12.8% overweight. [2]
While there has been a lot of investment spent trying to further our education in order to eradicate this problem, the importance of ensuring that young children are eating a healthy diet should not be understated. It can be hard convincing young children to adopt healthy eating practices, but there are some easy ways that can make them excited to eat their fruit and vegetables.
Why should we start teaching our kids about health from a young age?
Before we look at how we can get children eating healthier, it is worth understanding the health issues in later life that stem from being obese at a young age. Several longitudinal studies confirm the strong association of pediatric obesity with the persistence of adult obesity, and the future development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and increased risk of death. (3)
#1 Pediatric obesity is associated with high Cardiometabolic Risk (CMR) , and evidence of sub-clinical atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance that begins in childhood. The cumulative burden and severity of childhood obesity are primary mediators of worse cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes.
#2 Good evidence demonstrates that decreasing the severity of obesity positively impacts markers of cardiovascular risk and delays or prevents onset of future cardiometabolic disease.
#3 A 2017 study found that children who are obese have a 40%–80% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. [4]
How can eating more fruits and vegetables improve their health?
Children have always been taught from a young age to eat their greens but how important is it to heed this advice?
The World Health Organisation has thoroughly investigated the problem of childhood obesity. One of the key factors linked to this issue was , of course, poor diet. They found evidence that suggests that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may also assist dietary weight management strategies to prevent obesity. [5]
1) Eating larger amounts of fruits and vegetables increases the feeling of satiety and results in the displacement of more energy-dense foods.
2) Incorporating more fruits and vegetables can reduce the overall energy density of the diet, promote satiety, and decrease the total energy intake whilst increasing diet quality.
Tips to get more fruits and vegetables into your child’s diet:
With these positive effects in mind, here are some ways you can get more of them in your child’s diet:
#1 Make a smoothie - Smoothies are the easiest way to sneak healthy nutrients into your kid’s snack. The array of colours on offer and sweet taste often mask the fact that they are even eating vegetables. Some foods to consider adding in are spinach, avocado, berries, banana, and more. See here for some great smoothie recipes.
#2 Add veggies to dishes your kids already love - If they are big pizza fans (who isn’t?), why not make home-made pizzas? This way, you can work as a team in the kitchen and add ingredients like spinach, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, aubergine, or zucchini.
#3 Make it fun - Create a poster with images of fruits and veg and every time they achieve their daily goal, make it so they get to colour in or receive a little reward.
#4 Get the kids involved in – Work as a team to cook. Talk them through the vitamins and goodness of the foods you are putting into your recipes. This will make it exciting and they will be more inclined to eat the foods they have helped create.
#5 Start early - Make sure to give your children healthy, tasty snacks from a young age. The easiest example is veg sticks with hummus.
#6 Start the day strong - Try making some bran muffins packed with carrots and mixed berries, that not only look and smell delicious, but taste great too!
#7 Think sauces - For savoury dishes like pasta, soups, and stews, disguise the vegetables within the mix. Blend them into the sauce and they will never know the difference!
Tips to get more fruits and vegetables into your child’s diet:
With these positive effects in mind, here are some ways you can get more of them in your child’s diet:
#1 Make a smoothie - Smoothies are the easiest way to sneak healthy nutrients into your kid’s snack. The array of colours on offer and sweet taste often mask the fact that they are even eating vegetables. Some foods to consider adding in are spinach, avocado, berries, banana, and more. See here for some great smoothie recipes.
#2 Add veggies to dishes your kids already love - If they are big pizza fans (who isn’t?), why not make home-made pizzas? This way, you can work as a team in the kitchen and add ingredients like spinach, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, aubergine, or zucchini.
#3 Make it fun - Create a poster with images of fruits and veg and every time they achieve their daily goal, make it so they get to colour in or receive a little reward.
#4 Get the kids involved in – Work as a team to cook. Talk them through the vitamins and goodness of the foods you are putting into your recipes. This will make it exciting and they will be more inclined to eat the foods they have helped create.
#5 Start early - Make sure to give your children healthy, tasty snacks from a young age. The easiest example is veg sticks with hummus.
#6 Start the day strong - Try making some bran muffins packed with carrots and mixed berries, that not only look and smell delicious, but taste great too!
#7 Think sauces - For savoury dishes like pasta, soups, and stews, disguise the vegetables within the mix. Blend them into the sauce and they will never know the difference!
We hope these tips help you to get creative and include more nutrients into your child's diet! Let's focus on getting the right amount of fruits and vegetables in early, so they are on the right path to becoming happy, healthy adults! 🌱
References
(1) https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/
(2) https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03336/
(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931397/
(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931397/
(5) https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/childhood/WHO_new_childhoodobesity_PREVENTION_27nov_HR_PRINT_OK.pdf
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