Knowing that early food exposures influence taste preferences and food choices later on, focusing on a healthy diet from even the youngest ages is essential. The Kohl’s Start Childhood Off Right (SCOR) program also emphasizes and promotes the importance of this early foundation with consistent healthy eating and active living messaging for providers, community outreach workers, and families in order to prevent childhood obesity.
In clinical practice, we see daily evidence that the foods and beverages children (and adults) consume have a profound effect on their health and well-being and on their ability to live a healthy and disease-free life. Make every bite count refers to eating more nutrient-dense foods and beverages that provide vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. It also refers to limiting foods with added sugars, saturated fats, salt and empty calories.
The USDA guidelines encourage people to follow a healthy dietary pattern in appropriate portion sizes at every stage of life. This begins with breastfeeding (or utilizing iron fortified formula) for the first 6 months of life. It also includes adding healthy nutrient-dense complementary foods and encouraging infants and toddlers to eat a broad range of foods from all food groups and of various colors, textures and flavors.
The USDA guidelines also recognize the diversity of cultural food and beverage traditions in the United States, as well as budgetary constraints and considerations. However, even within various cultures, parents should strive to provide their children with healthy choices from these core elements:
- Vegetables of all types
- Fruits, especially whole fruit
- Grains, especially whole grains
- Dairy, especially fat-free or low-fat
- Protein foods, including lean meats, poultry and seafood; legumes, nuts and soy products
MyPlate.gov is a readily available resource to help guide and support healthy dietary patterns for all ages.
Healthy beverage choices are also an essential component of the new USDA guidelines. Studies have shown that sugar sweetened beverages contribute to tooth decay, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and heart disease. The USDA guidelines recommend water and unflavored cow’s milk for children older than 1 year and trying to limit juice, soda, sports drinks, sweetened teas, and other juice drinks. The industry also heavily promotes toddler milks as optimal for nutrition and development, but physicians, nutritionists and other health professionals do not recommend them. To further this messaging, the UConn RUDD Center for Food Policy and Obesity has created “keep it simple, keep it real” toolkits for caregivers to dispel these myths and promote healthy beverage choices for young children.
Take a look at the “keep it simple, keep it real” campaign.
