The Importance of Healthy Eating Habits in Childhood

Healthy eating is at the core of a healthy body. They say “you are what you eat” and to a large extent this is true. Wholesome nutrition and healthy eating is an essential part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical activity, a healthy diet can help maintain a healthy weight, reduce risk for chronic diseases, and overall promote good health. But why is it especially important during childhood?

Develop Healthy Eating Patterns and Impact on Adulthood

Habits that are developed during childhood possess positive influences on the diets of adults. It has been discovered that many early childhood habits shape adult life. Eating behaviors develop during the first few years of life just as other habits do. It’s pretty clear. If as a child you learned to eat a healthy, balanced diet, then as an adult you will carry on these lessons. However, if as a child you constantly ate fast food and an unbalanced diet, then again as an adult you will carry on these lessons. Therefore, it is extremely important for children to develop these eating habits early on so they carry forward to adulthood. Among all age groups in North America, obesity and overweight has become increasingly prevalent. As a result of unhealthy eating, young children have developed habits that hurt their health in adulthood. When these children grow up they are now more susceptible to various chronic diseases which are related to poor nutrition.

Toddler and Infant Years

The transition between infant and toddler is a period of rapid growth. Babies go from crawling to walking and consuming formula/breast milk to eating a variety of solid foods. Therefore, this time is extremely important to developing healthy eating habits. A study revealed that infants are born with a greater preference for sweet and salty as opposed to bitter tastes found in vegetables. However, through repeated exposure infants and toddlers have a greater acceptance towards vegetables and fruits that are more difficult to become accustomed to later in life. Therefore, good nutrition during the first two-three years of life is vital to developing habits that will carry on to adulthood. 

Parental Role 

Parents influence their children in a variety of ways, eating habits included. During childhood, parents are the ones to make food choices for the family, serve as models for dietary choices, and can enforce certain behaviors. The “bigger the better” mentality has been found to influence parent’s dietary choices. In some societies a larger infant is symbolic of successful parenting and health. However, this may not be the best choice. Parents must make balanced food choices and portions for their children. Excessive restriction at the same time can lead to poorer self regulation, increased preference for the food that was restricted, and poor nutrition choices later on in life. Positive encouragement to consume fruits and vegetables is more effective. 

One of the main ways children learn is from observation. Children will innately model their parent’s eating behaviors. Research reveals children are more likely to increase their intake of fruits, vegetables, and milk when they observe parents or adults consuming these foods. The same effect occurs when children watch their peers consuming these healthy diets. Positive social modeling, though indirect, has a great impact on children’s likelihood of consuming healthier dietary choices. Overall, parents should follow a “do as I do” approach for the most positive effect on a child’s eating habits. 

Simple Ways to Encourage Children To Eat Healthy 

Provide A Variety of Food Options

In today’s world it is easy to stop by at a fast food drive through and grab a soda, burger, and fries. But these foods contain high amounts of sugar and fats and tend to cause overeating. It is a much better option to provide children with a variety of fruits and vegetables prepared in creative ways. Parents can help shape their children’s food preferences as kids are more likely to enjoy and make a habit of eating food regularly. Some easy ways to prepare vegetables include casseroles, omelets, stir-fry, and much more!

Offer Snacks and Sweets in Moderation

Too much pressure towards healthy eating can produce unintended, adverse consequences. Therefore, it is important to offer children sweets and snacks in moderation to prevent a feeling of negativity when forced to eat healthy. Although it is not a good choice to constantly expose children to sugary sweets, it is also not a good idea to completely eliminate them from your child’s diet. Sweets can be part of a healthy diet as long as they are eaten in moderation.  This prevents your child from feeling negative about their favorite foods!

Teach Active Hunger Signals

While adults are able to identify their hunger signals, children have a difficult time realizing whether they are full or hungry which can ultimately lead to under or overeating. Parents pushing children to finish everything on their plates through punishment or bribery can result in overeating and dependent on outside cues to dictate hunger rather than their internal signals. Overall, don’t force or punish children to eat everything!

References

Birch, Leann et al. “Influences on the Development of Children’s Eating Behaviours: From Infancy to Adolescence.” Canadian journal of dietetic practice and research : a publication of Dietitians of Canada = Revue canadienne de la pratique et de la recherche en dietetique : une publication des Dietetistes du Canada vol. 68,1 (2007): s1-s56.

Schroeder, Hannah, et al. “The Importance of Healthy Early Eating Habits.” Novak Djokovic Foundation, 22 Dec. 2016, novakdjokovicfoundation.org/the-importance-of-healthy-early-eating-habits/.