30/05/2023
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๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก: ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ -๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐
As parents we always want to give children the best chances for a long and healthy life. One way we can do this is to focus on their nutrition from the very beginning. Nutrients provide their bodiesโ building blocks, the energy with which to fuel growth and the essential vitamins and minerals that make the reactions necessary for growth to happen. Childhood is also a time where the immune system is fine tuning and is called upon to respond to some of its greatest challenges. It is also a time when cognitive skills and personalities are developing. Finally, we are learning more and more about the profound impact that early nutrition has on health later in life. We know now that health decisions parents make today can determine not only whether children are meeting nutrient needs to support healthy growth and development, but also if they will live to 60, 80 or beyond.
So, what is the backbone of a healthy diet for the earlier life stages? Just like for adults, it is one that consists of plenty of vegetables, including dark green, orange, and yellow ones; one that is rich in fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy products, lean meats and poultry, and seafood.2 A healthy diet is low in saturated fats, processed meats, salt, added sugar and sugar sweetened foods and refined grains. A healthy diet should focus on nutrient-dense foods and stay within calorie limits.
Current intakes show that from an early age, dietary patterns fall short of meeting recommendations. Scientists use the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) to measure diet quality and to assess how well a set of foods aligns with key dietary guidelines. The latest Dietary Guidelines discusses results from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which shows that the diet of children ages 2 through 4 has a HEI score of 61 out of 100. Not greatโฆ grade wise, that would be a D. Most worrisome is that HEI Scores decline throughout childhood with scores for teens approximately 10 points lower than those for young children.
โข More than 80% of children and teens have a diet that is low in fruits and vegetables.
โข Most do not meet whole grain and seafood recommendations.
โข Only one third of teens and two thirds of children drink milk on a given day.
At the same time diets exceed limits for sodium, saturated fats and added sugars.
๐๐ข๐ฑ๐จ๐ง ๐. ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐
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