As snack attacks rise, seek healthy options
If you think your kids have more snack attacks than you did as a child, you're right.
"Children take more food breaks than they did two decades ago, according to Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At each snack attack, she says, children probably eat the same amount of food and get the same number of calories as they always have - but the higher number of snack breaks adds up to more calories a day.
Youths of all ages from 2 through the teen years snack more often. With 13 to 14 percent of children and adolescents overweight, we can blame eating between meals for part of the trend.
And yet, Dr. Siega-Riz says, "Snacks serve a purpose in children's diets. For some children, it's impossible to consume enough calories in meals." The task for parents and others who care for kids: Offer healthy snacks that children like.
"If you go into the pantry and see chips, cookies and sodas, kids will gravitate to that. Parents should bring better food choices into the home," Dr. Siega-Riz says.
Those food choices should include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, even though that might mean extra trips to the food store. The extra time and effort are worth it to help your child develop good eating habits for the long term. Also, make sure your own eating habits are nutritious. Parents who follow good eating habits themselves are more likely to have children who eat healthy.
You'll have more luck if you let your child make choices.
"It's important to give kids control. You can't say, 'You have to eat an apple today.' You can say, 'Have fruit today; choose what you want,'" says children's nutritionist Keith-Thomas Ayoob, Ed.D., R.D., an American Dietetic Association spokesman.
Your children probably won't give up a daily soda-and-chips routine without protest. Still, the sooner you start, the easier it will be.
"It's easier to influence the eating habits of a 3- to 4-year-old than a teenager," Dr. Ayoob says.
Bite-sized tips:
• Young children like small fruits, such as grapes, strawberries and apricots. Cut fruit into small pieces to prevent choking. Set out a bowl, but keep an eye on kids as they eat.
• Make a small extra dinner portion that children can heat up in a microwave for a snack after school.
• Jazz up plain yogurt with a few raisins, berries or diced fruit.