Healthy food is important for everyone, but especially for growing children. Unfortunately, we are also increasingly seeing obesity among young people. We rightly prevent them from taking up smoking or becoming addicted to alcoholic beverages. Why don’t we protect them from a food addiction? Because if they are already overweight at a young age, what will happen when they are adults? Also remember that many children are bullied at school because they are too fat.

It’s not easy for a fat child

Our children are growing more and more in width. A worrying development, not only in terms of physical health, but also in terms of mental well-being, because fat young children are bullied more often.

The main causes of obesity in a child

Of course, eating too much and too much fatty (unhealthy) food in combination with too little exercise is the main reason, but the following causes from the weekly magazine ‘Vriendin’ will surprise you:

• Children ask their parents to buy the products they see in advertisements. And that often involves hamburgers, sweets, sweet drinks and cookies. And almost never about spinach.
• Almost every parent knows that soft drinks such as Coke are wrong. But pre-packed fruit juices that you buy in the store also pose a risk due to the lack of fiber.
• Constantly sitting in front of the iPad and TV means you barely get any exercise.
• Hidden calories: A healthy cereal cake, corn flakes, or muesli bun contains more sugars and fats than we realize.
• Sleep deprivation is disastrous. Watching TV for too long or checking the phone in bed often affects your night’s sleep. But there is indeed a connection between structural sleep deprivation and body weight.
• Continuing to eat while the body is already saturated is mainly due to flavor enhancer E621. So check the label of that bag of chips, among other things.
• Compared to a home-prepared meal, ready-made meals contain many more calories, fats, sugars and salt. On the other hand, many less healthy ingredients.
• It may seem contradictory, but skipping breakfast is more likely to make you fat than skinny. Later in the day you will be more hungry for mainly high-calorie foods.
• Little ones who, instead of being breastfed, are still regularly given a bottle before going to sleep after their first birthday, have a greater risk of obesity later in life.

Source: Girlfriend no. 44, 2016 “help my child is (slightly) too fat”

Bullying and being bullied

Young overweight children who are bullied are also more likely to be bullies themselves, according to research in 2014 by the Erasmus MC and the GGD in Rdam. More than one in three overweight toddlers bullies or is bullied at school every month. It was already known that overweight children are bullied more often. But not that fat children themselves bully more. The survey was conducted among 5- and 6-year-old children and teachers at schools in Rotterdam and the surrounding area.

Healthy weight

A healthy weight means that the weight is in accordance with the height of the child. This is important for children, so that they can move well, develop well, and also have less chance of being overweight once they become adults. Whether the child’s weight is correct can be checked and tested at Voedingcentrum.nl. There you can check whether the so-called Body Mass Index (BMI) is acceptable. If this is not the case, the child should eat less (in between meals). And also exercise more, so that the surplus of carbohydrates and fat is burned and disappears from the body. If it turns out that a child’s BMI is much too high, ask an expert such as a pediatrician, GP or dietitian for advice.

A healthy amount

Naturally, one child needs more food than another. One simply burns more than the other. The child may or may not be having a growth spurt. And what one person considers a lot, another calls a small portion. In short, what is too much and what is little. Above all, let your common sense work.

Advice for big eaters

You can deal with a child who eats too much as follows:

• Teach daughter or son to take small bites and to chew properly. This makes you feel full faster. How often do we experience that our appetite diminishes some time after snacking, but not during it.
• Let the child drink plenty of water before meals, as it fills the stomach in a healthy, calorie-free way.
• It is better to give your child a small amount twice than a plate full at once. Partly to allow for some delay during eating, so that the feeling of satiety has time to present itself.

Tips for (too) small eaters

So the opposite partly applies here:

• So don’t drink just before, and preferably not during, food.
• But don’t give your child a large amount at once, because that is counterproductive, so also serve small portions.
• If the child eats too little, no treats after the meal.
• Stuffing, feeding and threatening are counterproductive.
• Involve your child in the choice, preparation, etc., because then he or she will become more motivated. In that respect, children are just like adults who, without having a say, will also become obstructive.

What is healthy food

• Children drink approximately 1.5 liters per day, but preferably not too much in the form of lemonade, soft drinks and pre-packed fruit juices.
• A good breakfast is important.
• Three meals a day is best, and no more than four snacks.
• Snacking before eating is always taboo.
• Variation in diet is important for both adults and children to ensure that all the necessary building blocks are consumed. And it is not without reason that the saying goes that “a change of food makes you eat”.
• And again: involve them in the preparation, ask them to help, make them motivated.
• Let them choose between two vegetables every now and then, so that they get plenty of it.
• When eating, no watching TV, playing or other distractions.
• In general, children eat the right amounts, so full is full.

Good example

Children imitate their parents in many areas, including when it comes to nutrition. What they observe in you now, they will do later as adults. So set a good example also in the field of nutrition and eating habits.