Healthy Eating, Healthy Plates
One of the biggest health concerns many children in Mississippi face is obesity. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, nearly one in five children and teens are obese. It’s a condition that can lead to everything from high blood pressure and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes to depression and low self-esteem.
At Lafayette Pediatric Clinic, we work with families every day who are struggling with obesity. That is why we are launching the Healthy Eating, Healthy Plate initiative. Throughout the year, we will provide tools and advice for building healthy eating habits with your children.
Our goal is to help parents better understand what good nutrition looks like for their children and to make healthy eating actionable for every parent, even those battling tight budgets and tight schedules. As part of the initiative, we will be sharing information on our website, on social media and with patients during their clinic appointments.
To kick off this initiative, we wanted share what we believe are some of the most important tips for building healthy eating habits in your children.
Start early. A child’s eating experiences when they are young can influence how they eat as they grow older. That’s why it’s important to introduce healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and water into their diet from the beginning.
Make the plate look great. Start by making half of the plate fruit and vegetables. They can be fresh, frozen, canned or dried/dehydrated, and may be whole, cut-up, pureed or cooked. From there, choose more whole grains, like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread and brown rice. Serve fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk and encourage water instead of fruit juice or sugary drinks. For the protein, go lean with options like eggs, seafood, chicken and other lean proteins.
Snacks shouldn’t be junk food. Kids should have treats — cakes, ice cream, candy — every once in a while and on special occasions, but everyday snacks should not equate to junk food. Try options like apples and peanut butter, nuts and granola and strawberries instead of chips or fruit snacks.
Keep it simple. Cooking healthy does not mean you have to plan elaborate and expensive meals. Instead, it can be as simple as looking for what vegetables are on sale at the grocery store and using them for a sheet pan meal, or as quick as buying frozen, microwaveable vegetable steamers to help make dinners faster.
Model good habits. Your children will learn their eating habits from their parents — so model good habits by eating healthy as well.
