Influences On The Diet Of Children

Children’s diets are influenced by their family and by their own tastes and preferences. The influence of a parent is the strongest, because parents are the providers, enforcers, and role models for children. “... children adopt unhealthy habits early in life” (Issues and Controversies). Parents should maintain healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, it encourages the child to be equally active and reduce the matter of childhood obesity. Parents should avoid the use of food as a reward for their children, like having McDonald’s for having good grades when good grades should be a regular occurence. Or having McDonald’s when the parent doesn’t want to cook that night, this can create

“The rise of obesity has placed the health of an entire generation at risk” (Vilsack). With childhood obesity rates skyrocketing in the last decade, multiple culprits have been blamed as the source of the epidemic. Sometimes, the blame is all placed on genetics. Other times, people believe it is the responsibility of childcare centers of schools to teach healthy habits. While these accusations do hold some truth, the fact is that the obesity rates in America are increasing because children are not being taught the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, or given an example of healthy nutritional habits during their most crucial years of learning. Although there are other factors that hold some influence, a child’s nutritional behavior is primarily determined by the home environment during his or her years of early childhood.

As children the human brain is making thousands of connections each day, learning as much as it can about the environment we are in. It is common for many of these connections to be about food because it is such an integral part of our lives. The amount of food consumed as a child, depending on the child, is usually a small amount. However, as the child grows into adolescence and puberty the amount consumed increases drastically to keep up with the growing body. Due to the hormonal changes throughout the puberty stage food-related signals are affected.

Have you ever read through the kids’ menu at your favorite restaurant? What about the kids’ menu at every restaurant within 5 miles of your home? A look at those sheets of paper, with their mazes, search-a-words, and dot to dot sections will show you that what we often call “kids’ food” is low quality, high fat, and high calories. The meals runs the color range from orangish-yellow to some reddish shade of brown…. think mac and cheese, French fries, nuggets, hot dogs, and maybe pizza; but of course, the choices are cheese or pepperoni, never veggie. When I was growing up we went to a restaurant to eat something special, the kinds of meals that were too complicated to make at home, or contained ingredients that were either not carried in the

Given these points, learning how to maintain a healthy diet is beneficial to a child’s physical

Since a child spends so much time in school, most of their meals are consumed there. Nearly every school in the nation serves one meal a day, and many serve at least two (Haskins, Paxson, Donahue, 2006). Thus, this is a target rich environment to reduce the amount of poor nutritional valued food exposure and replace them with healthy choices. This type of exposure would foster a positive environment filled with the potential to develop healthy food consumption habits. Due to the amount of exposure these positive habits have the possibility of becoming life long ones. Also, when a child’s mind is properly molded that knowledge will be brought home and has the distinct possibility of influencing other siblings and parents.

We are what we eat. Most of us have heard this many times, and just do not believe it; however, it is shockingly true. The human body is made up of the nutrients it extracts from foods (Katz). The importance of the statement “We are what we eat” often goes unrecognized, thus causing a major problem: parents not providing healthy diets for their children to ensure their best quality of life. Childhood obesity is a serious problem in America, and I believe it stems from parents. I have witnessed this first hand with my niece. It really bothers me that my sister-in-law often feeds my niece desserts and junk food instead of meats and vegetables. I have noticed that my niece is overweight and developing slower than she should. My family thinks it is cute, but I think it is starting her off in the wrong direction and posing problems for her future health. “For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years, the prevalence of obesity has remained fairly stable at about 17% and affects about 12.7 million children and adolescents for the past decade”(“Childhood Obesity Facts”). The number one cause for obesity is consuming an unhealthy diet filled with extra calories the body does not need. In a study of 6,212 children ranging in ages from four to nineteen, one-third ate fast food every day. By consuming fast food that often, it is likely to add about six extra pounds per child each year and increase the risk for obesity (Holguin). Although childhood obesity is problematic, there are

Because eating is second only to breathing . it is a critical survival behavior , its not a disease, so it can be interchangeable. It tends to be more autonomic, and stimulated more than any other behavior we are engaged in.That’s why eating is not a rational behavior, or a cognitive behavior, it stimulates the senses , such as: touch or smell . eating is instinctual, and may be controlling. In addition to this kind of mindless eating, it is part of our DNA. Eating is essential for our survival, which is passed on through evolution. Our brains are programmed to respond to food by secreting a necrohormone, called dopamine. This hormone is believed to be responsible for the urge to act on our own desires. Dopamine is tied to our natural opioid system , which gives us a sense of pleasure, and well-being. It is a secretion that automatically is triggered by novelty. Novelty,. It is something usual or unique. It creates cravings or desire in our brains.( be it food or drug)

Children in this day and age have terrible eating habits. Nutrition is no longer a necessity, it is more of a thing that is thrown aside and overlooked. Children eat candy or sweets all the time, while getting no exercise. Exercise is a major part of keeping a healthy body but it is not the only thing that is needed to be a healthy person. I will discuss some of these necessities to being or having a healthy child. In today’s society there are more and more children are becoming obese, if this trend isn’t stopped soon then there will be no more healthy children. Besides the children whose diet is controlled by sports there are very few other children who choose to eat healthy. These children sit on couches playing video games all day rather than doing sociable or healthy activities.

Shannon Thompson: I understand what Mary and Rachel are saying about how parents influence the way their child eats and how if they promote healthy eating habits, their child will be encouraged to follow in the same footsteps. Ideally it may not seem to be a difficult lifestyle to follow, but my child is obsessed with eating and she is also a very picky eater. She refuses to eat vegetables and fruits and will put up a fight if I try to make her eat them.

The wellness of children is always a debate regardless of where you go. What foods are considered nutritious? Who is responsible for making these choices for our children? I have paid attention to the types of foods that are made available to my children over the past few years and I am not impressed. Three out of four days the menu has fried foods, such as mini corn dogs, popcorn chicken and chicken tenders. The vegetables are always frozen and fruits come from a can. These options may fit the food pyramid but I am wondering why our children can’t be given fresher options. Food options like these do not help the increasing obesity problems that our children are currently experiencing. This paper intends to show how

In today’s culture, food is often judged by its convenience and taste. Processed and fast foods are quick and easy, and taste fairly good. Children especially enjoy fast food and packaged snacks. But while this may seem a good solution to the fast-paced society we live in, it is actually a dangerous habit. 15% of children ages 6-19 are overweight, and the number is growing (Back to School). Even if a child is not obese, he often does not eat healthy and faces the danger of becoming overweight. One of the main culprits in this problem is the food that children eat. Processed and preserved foods and fast food negatively affect elementary-aged children’s health and future lifestyle.

Eating habits can be understood as food preferences, food acceptance and rejection as well as the portion size of food consumed (VALERIU, 2016). Eating habit is developed since birth and throughout the life cycle. Multiple studies have studied on the factors that will influence children’s dietary behaviors (VALERIU, 2016), in order to improve the eating habits. Child obesity is becoming prevalent in society today (Birch & Fisher, 1998). Obese children have higher risk of getting detrimental diseases during their adulthood. Although pediatric treatment for child obesity has been proved successful in short run, but not in long run (Epstein, Myers, & Saelens, 1998). Therefore, numerous researchers started examining the factors affecting children’s

Thanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, federally funded school breakfast and lunches are more nutritious than ever. The law ushered in requirements that school meals include more fruits and vegetable, more whole grains, less sodium, no trans fats, and limit on saturated fat and calories, and to improve the overall quality of the food sold at school, but food likes and dislikes, food fads, ethnic backgrounds, habits, religion, society and income all influence the dietary patterns of rich and poor alike. For food supplement to be successful in nourishing a malnourished population, it must be acceptable to the people for whom it is intended the children, even though there is about 70% of acceptance among parents, also children are growing, so they are in an anabolic state: muscle is being built; bone is being built; and the brain is developing. Changing food habits is difficult, therefore nutrition education is of the utmost importance since a child need all necessary nutrients as his/her body can double in high within a few years. Some research combines knowledge from the fields of behavioral economics, psychology, and food marketing to analyze how people decide to eat. A test was conducted on whether making healthier food more convenient would lead to their increased consumption, and after a 16-period, the sales of healthier foods rose 18% and the unhealthy food consumption decreased by 27%. The bad economy in recent years has place a burden on the schools

2009).” (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(10), 1255.) By consuming large amounts of fast food daily, our bodies do not get the recommended nutrition we need. For children, this is because they are still growing and they need a lot more to help their bodies perform daily tasks. By developing a dependency on high saturated fats and little nutrients, they become accustomed to eating poorly and a higher risk of becoming obese and developing health concerns over time. Children are smart and learn by example, if they are taught that it is ok to consume unhealthy choices daily, it will become a lot harder later on to take control of the choices they make especially when their health is on the line. The most significant example is we teach students health in schools and making right decisions and by contradicting this and feeding them fast food would make our curriculum wrong by not setting a good example. Children need healthier options to help with their active lifestyles. They need energy for learning and improving their bodies be set up for success versus being lethargic and non-engaged.