Healthy nutrition for children

A child that weighs less, but is muscular, is not behind his well-fed (but not fat) peers.

Everyone would like to have a well-nurished child. We forget that the difference between a well-nutrished child and a more plump child is mostly in fatty tissue. Tissue which usually has the function to preserve energy.  All trainers know that top athletes simply cannot gain weight as it would result in losing skills and endurance.

Young body grows and needs a variety of food from which it can "draw" vitamins and minerals needed for its development.

A child grows and increases the weight of its organs (for example. liver, brain, bowels, lungs, etc.) and muscles, with bones. It takes a variety of foods, especially those with plenty of proteins. They can be found in food of animal origin (meat, fish, milk, dairy products and eggs), but also in many vegetables (legumes, soy, wheat, etc). Vegetable proteins are not as valuable as those of animal origin, but they are sufficient for adults, for instance vegetarians. Children, whose bodies are developing, as well as athletes and heavy manual workers, are not satisfied with a strict vegetarian diet (if they do not consume at least milk or dairy products).

Therefore, rule number one in nutrition for children, in development and growth is; sufficient amount of proteins in food.

This basically means one to two cups of milk a day and at least one seving of meat, fish, dairy or egg. A little more than that is not harmful, but too much can be. If the child is thin, it may be because he has less fat. How much of the child's weight goes to fat and how much to the muscles can be determined by very complex x-ray examinations (which are currently conducted only for research purposes), and little less accurate is the method of determing  thickness of child's skin folds when lifted with two fingers. Usually though, the best way is just by taking a look at a child and making a conclusion based on experience and knowledge.

A child who weights less, but is quite muscley is not in any way behind, in comparison to a well-fed (but not fat) child. Only in cases of some long- term serious illness or hunger, a child who is more plump, might have more chance to recover and survive.

What do our bodies need

A young man needs other substances in food, appart from the proteins. It would appear that the least important substances are fats. In USA, a fat has been synthesized, which enhances the taste of food, but which cannot be absorbed by bowels, which would certainly be great for owerweight people. However, it was also discovered that such fat prevents an organism to absorb some vitamins, which are soluble only by fats.  So this resulted in a reduced usage of such fats especially in large amounts.

Fats also contain other substances which are essential for our bodies. Thus complete elimination of fat from food is impossible (and unnecessary). For a long time now English school canteens have been serving skimmed milk instead of full cream milk.

Fat of animal origin (which includes alredy mentioned fat contained in milk and butter) is one of  the major causes for artherosclerosis in older age. Therefore it is important to educate children that consuming too much fat can be harmful. Of course, food should be prepared with vegetable oil, preferably olive oil.  

Fats enhance the taste of food.

In sweets and an old time favourite, chips, they can be found in large amounts. It is important to pay attention of how much fat children take in every day. It would especially be beneficial for them to avoid animal fat (lard, goose fat and butter). Butter is very welcome and prefered by children, but the truth is that butter is a ticking bomb. Children like delicatessen foods, salami, canned meat products and ham. These foods are usually very high in fat. Think of it this way, children when grown up might just have to pay the price for the bad eating habbits and wrong food choices made in their younger years.

Children must be taught to eat normal, fresh food, prepared in the kitchen. Persistent efforts on having children eat all the food they are served, is more an educational measure than a need, because obviously, if they refuse to eat one or more kinds of food, it will not harm their health.

Carbohydrates (foods made from grains, potatoes, rice, legumines, etc) are completelly burned by the body,  thus helping the funcion of organs which eliminate the by-products from the body (kidney, lungs). They perfectly restore burned energy in a young person, but if taken in excess amounts they will be converted into fat (body converts them into reserves). Children (and many adults)really do love the sweets. Sugar is a carbohydrate too, and it may cause problems and disorders in children's nutrition. A child chooses food that tastes delicious, usually this causes too much sugar intake and results in losing appetite for other essential substances. Sweets contain lots of sugar and consuming too much sugar results in weight gain.

Varied nutrition

Therefore, when it comes to sweets, children should be limited: eating sweets is an exception, such as a celebration, however definitelly not food for every meal. 

A young body continually grows and develops and therefore it needs varied food which will be the source of vitamins and minerals it needs. That is why fruit and vegetables are so important. Fruit and vegetables, as well as food rich in poorly digestible cellulose, increase bowel  motility thus enabling a normal digestion. If a young man eats regular and varied food, his body needs no additional vitamin preparations (although supplements of vitamins A and D are welcome).

There are individuals among children and youngsters who, if not supervised, really eat less food than essential and are actually starving themselves.

Little children are playful when they eat and the time allocated for eating should be prolongued until they finish the meal. Each child is an individual and thus should be approached, in cooperation with the medical professional. However, take care not to go overboard with the large amounts of food.

In the USA the situation is becoming serious, because too many young people and children are obese. We can see that the same is happening in here, too.  Lots of young people are becoming inert and this is one of the main reasons for being overweight.

So, do not forget...

• Make sure your child eats regular meals.
• Give children sufficient proteins (milk, meat, eggs, cheese...).
• Try to teach a child to avoid large amounts of fatty foods.
• Prepare low fat meals, use vegetable oils.
• Wrong nutrition increases child's fatty tissue - it is useless and very harmfull.
• Sweets can be part of a meal, preferebly one. But try to make sweets available only on occassions such as birthdays and other celebrations.
• Don't be too proud of your child staying mostly at home, reading. It will make them lazy and inert. Children must be active!