We all know childhood obesity is a major problem in America, but did you know that only 2% of those between the ages of two and 19 are fulfilling the dietary recommendations of the Food Pyramid? Two percent. I was staggered to read that in an article about Eat This, Not That. The authors also cite a study of 4,000 kids in that same age group; it shows they got one-fourth of their vegetables from french fries and the bulk of their nutrients from fruit drinks and cereals.
The average American child consumes 180 calories more per day than in 1989. Couple that with a more sedentary lifestyle and it’s no wonder 45% of America’s young people are overweight or obese.
The article, for Men’s Health, offers more nutritious choices for kids’ meals and snacks. Among them:
- A Quaker S’mores Granola Bar instead of a Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Strawberry Yogurt Bar, saving 40 calories and 6 grams of sugar.
- Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters instead of Capri Sun Wild Cherry, saving 65 calories and a whopping 19 grams of sugar! Wild Cherry has more sugar, ounce for ounce, than Mountain Dew and is only 10% real juice.
The worst offender they found was the Cosi “kids” pepperoni pizza, with as many calories as 10 glazed donuts, 93 grams of fat and three days’ worth of sodium.
The findings are an eye-opener, even for those without kids. Seven categories of snacks and meals are covered and you can see them all here. I’m never too old to learn.
Related: Healhier School Food McDonald’s and Preschoolers
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Today you published this great post on smarter food choices for kids. I began typing a comment on here but it grew into a very long blog post so I moved it to my own blog. Without further adieu here is Kids Can Do It Too!
Sheesh _ I guess it’s sort of a rant but hopefully you’ll forgive me and maybe some of your readers and mine will gain something from both posts.
brightfeather’s last blog post..Kids Can Do It Too!
I can’t wait to read it and I’m delighted I played even a small part in it! I’m going to click on over right now and hopefully others interested in this will do so too.
Did you know there was a product out there that helps kids ages 2-8 to fulfill the pyramid requirements? It’s called the SnackerTracker and we just love it. I’ve learned so much and my grandkids get excited to fill out the chart. Your readers should check it out.
I wasn’t aware of that product at all. Thank you for the tip; anything that helps promote good nutrition is a positive, imo.
Thanks!