According to the American Heart Association children who eat healthy grow up with very little risk of obesity or heart disease. This comes directly from “Caregiver Influences on Eating Behaviors in Young Children A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association,” was published this week in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The Summary

The study provided evidence that in order to prevent childhood obesity needs to look at specific triggers for hunger in children. It shows that parents and caregivers are important in forming good eating habits.

Most children have a natural instinct as to when to stop eating as they feel full. This is known as self regulating behavior. Sometimes a caregiver will push a child to eat and that can override the internal off switch. It is vital to allow the child to stop eating when their body tells them. This has now been shown to lead to a better health and relationship with food throughout their lifetimes.

The days of “Clean your plate” are gone. It is now recommended and encouraged to feed your child healthy foods but let them decide when they are done. Not only does it promote healthy eating habits it also helps instill decision making capabilities.

 

The Role of Caregivers and Parents

The best thing you can do above feed your children nutritious foods is to be their eating role models. Meal times should be consistent with healthy options. Food viewed as fuel as well as something delicious.

Introducing new foods and allowing children to make decisions if they like or dislike something is important as forcing foods they hate on them can lead to issues.

This is NOT to say that they should be able to eat whatever whenever.  That is known as the laissez-faire approach and can lead to a backfire and end up in overeating and indulging in junk foods leading to obesity later in life.

The wider the variety of healthy foods offered the bigger the pallet to pull from in choices. The more choices the more likely they are to enjoy eating healthy and that also goes hand in hand with the widened variety of nutrients they are able to consume, better supporting growth, development, and health throughout their lives.

Interested in more directed nutrition advice for yourself or your children? Schedule your appointment with Tampa Cardiovascular Associates of Tampa Bay, Florida. 813-975-2800 or visit online to learn more www.tampacardio.com.