Food pyramids and dietary guidelines have always been something that you think of as outlines for adults.  Another belief we, as a society always held was that youd outgrow your baby fat.  Neither of these beliefs hold true anymore.

There is a growing concern about the fact that one in five preschoolers, ages 2 to 5 years old, is overweight.  One of the changes taking place to combat this trend is education for parents to find out what quantity of food to feed their children as they outgrow baby food and switch to regular adult food.

In daycare, there is now  a proposed change to get children 15 minutes of activity for every hour spent in the daycare.  This is a good time in life to instill healthy habits and attitudes towards a beneficial amount of physical activity.  Another recommendation for daycare is to limit standing or sitting time for the children to no more than 30 minutes at a time.

Also, avoidance of taking away recess or physical activity time as a punishment is a recommendation.  For the babies in daycare, they should not be in equipment that limits movement, such as baby swings, for any extended periods of time.

Babies often know whats best for them when it comes to portion control when they are very young.  They usually drink enough formula until they are full and then refuse to take any more.  When babies make the transition to solid food as toddlers, parents need to know what is a healthy portion size.

Parents may tend to give them more than they should eat and insist that they finish it.  Without meaning any harm, parents may be establishing a lifetime habit of overeating.  The national dietary recommendations are now going to include guidelines specifically for preschoolers.  For portion size, the recommendation for each food category is one tablespoon of that food per year of the childs age.

When it comes to attitudes towards physical activity and eating and what the norm will be, parents have the largest influence on their children.  Daycare still is a good place to work on instilling norms of portion control and activity, since three-fourths of preschoolers spend some or all of their days there.

Recommendations here are to use portion control as it is age appropriate.  Also, daycare staff should be sensitive to a childs cue that they are full.  For moms, breastfeeding is preferable because breastfed babies tend to be less likely to become obese adults.  Pediatricians need to be sensitive to the issue of preschool obesity.

Infants and children need to be weighed at each checkup.  If there is the beginning of an unhealthy weight increase, parents should be counseled and advised on steps to prevent obesity in their child.  Federal nutrition assistance programs are available so parents can afford healthful eating for their children.

 

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