Kids – Overfed but Undernourished

Not all that long ago, few people were aware that there was any link between what we ate and our health. My family ate a pretty typical American diet which included meat, starches, over cooked or canned veggies and deserts. White bread and bologna sandwiches with processed cheese were typical lunch fare along with twinkies or chips and a candy bar. I drank soda and consumed endless sugary or fatty snacks. In fact, most of what we ate was highly processed, nutrient depleted and highly calorific. Both my parents became afflicted with obesity, diabetes and heart disease, yet their doctors never mentioned that there might be anything that they could do to control these conditions – particularly with diet.

Today, there is much more awareness about what a healthy diet should contain, but most American kids aren’t eating it. Obesity and diabetes have reached epidemic proportions and most alarmingly, these preventable conditions are affecting more and more children. According to a paper from the Journal of the American Medical Assn., dated Feb 18th of this year, the rate of chronic health conditions affecting children increased from 12.8% in 1994 to 26.6% in 2006. Latino and black youths and males were most affected largely due to poor diet and lack of access to health care. While some of this increase reflects behavioral and learning disorders, the rise in obesity was by far the most significant increase. So, why are our kids being over fed but undernourished?

This is a hard question to answer but I think it has to do with our increasingly fast passed lifestyle that is jammed with stimulus and demands. Lower and middle income families consume about 50% of their meals from fast food restaurants or eat prepackaged, highly processed, quick meals like hot dogs at the gas station or Chinese from the takeaway. This shift from eating whole foods prepared at home to highly processed fast food, eaten on the run, has had a huge impact on our health. Fast food factories have done a superb job of providing us with high energy, high taste, instant gratification and it’s no surprise that these kinds of foods quickly become addictive. In a society where we seem to be constantly rushing forward, food has been reduced to fuel and the quicker it can be consumed – the better.

The effect of this trend towards consuming more highly processed food is very dramatic in places like Japan and China where not long ago, most people ate a high fiber and vegetable rich diet. Now, along with affluence and I phones, obesity and chronic health disorders are proliferating, especially among the young. Portion sizes have also increased to such a degree that a single typical meal from a fast food restaurant provides more calories than our entire optimal daily allowance. While a cheeseburger, fries and extra large soda do provide proteins, fats and sugars, it’s not providing the range of nutrients that healthy brains and developing bodies need. Even a trip to the salad bar can be deceptive when you are adding high fat dressings on top of nutrient anemic iceberg lettuce.

Yesterday a mom told me that she tries to make healthy meals for her kids, but they absolutely refuse to eat them. I asked her what she did when they refused to eat their supper and she became uncomfortable. It turns out, she then allowed them to rummage the kitchen and eat a box of sugary cereal instead of the more balanced meal she’d prepared. Truth is, kids will always prefer sugary cereals if they’re available. The trick is to not stock your home with such food items in the first place. In various studies, it shows that babies do have an instinct to prefer whole and natural foods and given the choice, will eat a good variety of foods that provide our required nutrients. However, this instinct clearly can be lost after years of eating processed food.

But the good news is that childhood obesity and it’s related health problems are easily reversed when a parent takes charge and starts to provide both the food and the guidance that will help a child regain their health. But, it does mean taking control of your life, pulling on the reins against the mad rush forward to slow down. Eating healthy foods takes more time. More time to shop, more time to prepare, and hopefully more time to enjoy with your family along with conversation and emotional support. It’s not so hard when  you realize that giving your child a foundation of health is one of the single most important things you can do for them. It’s all about our priorities.

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