Childrens food habits through nutrition
Nutrition therapy success stories are greatly known widely, the motive to make school nutrition successful is to manipulate eating habits and awareness in childhood for better future rather than managing only if some emergency arise. Across nations, foodservice staff, administrators, parents, teachers and students collectively work as a team in reducing the contributions that poor food habits does through the negligence with the food served at schools. Nutrition therapy makes this change possible when food became low in overall fat content especially in saturated fat, fresh fruits and vegetables were included in the meals.
Today, meals serve at schools are satisfying according to the program standards for key nutrients. School districts make money through their service by serving healthy food and beverages to the children in America, everything is settled and profitable. The nutritional therapy influences the production and consumption of healthy food and drinks, the approach of building nutrition standards for competitive foods are implemented. Nutrition becomes champion by using the same marketing techniques for the healthy food that unhealthy food companies are using, promote healthy choices, limit access to bad food and make availability easy for healthy food.
With the help of educational psychology, modelling and rewarding benefits the process as well. Another variable considered in the research work was that the change in the environment is also responsible in changing the habits. Ongoing attention to children and food services erase obesity and related issues smoothly. School age children are not only those who have experienced the change but surprisingly it has been occurring at large scale in states and on national levels after setting its roots within the family of a child. Many support centers and programs also place an impact on individuals as a team. Nutrition policy has been changed, adopted and implemented until the last decade.
Surveys and action plans were done to check the results and data highlights the importance of environment when nutrition therapy is being used. The data also points out that change in behavior is not only a destination but also a process to hit destinations one by one towards health and a healthy lifestyle. We must help children today for bright future lifestyle.
The main components of school healthy children program are as follows; educating about nutrition, quality check of school meals, commitment to physical activity along with a nutrition plan, introducing healthy food alternatives to popular food items, exampling of pleasant experiences with the healthy food and wonderful marketing. Visual aids are always an old but strong idea to achieve the goals presented above. They are the basis of the program.
Nutrition therapy provides an opportunity for the schools in giving the helping hand for the provision of consistent and reliable information about health during all the stages of life. Studies have shown the importance of adopting good nutrition habits in school years for strong bones, stamina, growth and establishment of successful lifetime career. The data also cover several responses to lift the needs of the program, few of them are:
Large number of students addicted to fatty foods and consumes less fresh and healthy food (about 60%)
Fiber content through whole grains, legumes, beans and lentils, fruits and vegetables, chick peas and lentils is absent in the daily diet of children (about 40%)
90% of the female children are at risk of developing bone diseases due to low calcium intake and high sugar containing empty calorie beverages and refined juices.
35% children live mostly on sugary Foods.
The above-mentioned dangerous data have open the eyes of many parents and motivate therapists and researchers to convince individuals about becoming serious about the nutritive requirements of the children. A big mistake children do and parents ignore daily is skipping of breakfast as it severely shakes the intellectual performance of children in academics. Such children are marked by disturbed psychological well being, emotional disturbances, and poor grades and difficult to handle classroom behavior in both active and passive manners, for example child either shows lack of attention or is aggressive towards others or show lack of interest in activities. Moreover, serious health problems hold these children in the shackles in the end.
Poor eating habits in childhood slower the metabolism, type II diabetes are increasing at higher rates as usually those children who skip breakfast are more likely to eat sweets or fatty foods and drink empty calorie beverages on an empty stomach. Overweight and obese children are predicted to be overweight and obese teens and adults, which is a danger on their own health throughout the life. They have high levels of blood lipids, blood pressure, bone and joint issues, early maturation that develops low self-esteem and discrimination.
Then the adults in these cases are at increased risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers of any type, and gallbladder disease. Among heart diseases the severe one is Atherosclerosis, the deadly blood cholesterol level is the reason behind the condition which shrinks the arteries and blocks the blood flow for a silent attack. It is normally happened without notice. It is a primary concern to control what a child eats as it affects their health badly.
We all must improve the habits of children from the day one, whatever child starts eating in weaning, and he or she continues to live with the taste, texture, smell and food forever. A firm foundation full of healthy and boiled white meat, grilled vegetables, fresh and raw fruits, honey and all healthy food should be used only to entertain children for a better and a healthy life.
Foods to avoid are; nuts, peanuts, shellfish, egg, soy, popcorn, whole nuts, raw carrots, whole grapes, hard candy and hot dogs as they are neither delicious nor safe, they might cause allergies and have choking hazards too. Some foods that are encouraged to feed them are; soups of pulses and vegetables mashed or ground food, citrus fruit juice, rice soup and beware not to use commercial baby foods much.