I'm really getting tired of watching people feed their kids crap food. A steady diet of chicken nuggets, white bread, hotdogs, and processed food is bad for the body and the brain. High fructose corn syrup is horrible; there’s absolutely nothing positive to say about it, other than it's a cheap way to overly-sweeten foods to increase profits for junk food corporations.
In the USA, one out of every six kids is obese. One in three is considered overweight.
Since 1980, childhood obesity has tripled, and since 1990 preschool obesity has increased by 60%. (source: JAMA, CDC)
The biggest excuse I hear from parents who feed their kids garbage is that "my son or daughter is young and can burn it off." Yeah, okay, but think about the nutrition foundation you have set for your kid. A big fat ZERO. The eating habits and expectations that you set for your child will last a lifetime. When you rotate a series of breakfasts that include sugary cereals or waffles, lunches that include pizza, cookies, bologna on white bread, "fruit" roll-ups, and combine it with a dinner rotation of pizza, hotdogs, microwaveable meals in a plastic bowl, and soda, you are setting your child up for obesity, not to mention brain deficiencies.
Whenever I travel overseas, I notice that few, if any restaurants offer "kiddie meals". The little kids grow up learning to eat the same food as the adults. No chicken fingers, no hotdogs with ketchup, no pizzas.
Yes, yes, once in a while everybody eats something bad for themselves, but when you do this consistently, you are harming your child's potential. Why would a child who has never grown up eating vegetables choose vegetables as an adult? Why would a child who drinks soda or "fruit" juice with almost every meal ever feel compelled to choose water or milk? Why would a child who has been conditioned to eat foods with "fruit flavor" ever choose a piece of REAL fruit over the junk? They don't. Then they grow up with the same horrible eating habits, usually combined with a sedentary lifestyle, and voila OBESITY. Not to mention diabetes, heart disease, cancers.
But wait, you defend these eating habits by saying that you ate like this as a kid? Nope, you didn't. High fructose corn syrup didn’t sneak into the food chain until the 80s. It's so much sweeter than sugar and it's so cheap.
Excuse #347 of not eating healthy foods: It's too expensive. I call foul! By eating whole grains, bulk veggies (even frozen), and fruits, you can fill up on real food and actually spend less. What's really expensive is paying for diabetes care, cancer treatment, or cardiovascular disease. The cost of obesity-related medical expenses in the United States topped $190 billion last year... Don't feel full? Consider your environment. If you're eating on the run (in the car, on the way out the door, etc.), you’re not being mindful and will overeat. Remember, it takes your brain about 20 minutes to sync up with the feeling in your stomach. And if you want to see how healthy your diet is, click on the American Institute for Cancer Research's link http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/diet/reduce diet quiz.html
Sorry for sounding so harsh. No, scratch that. I'm not sorry at all. Feed your brain and body healthy food, and you will reap the benefits for a lifetime!
OBESITY IS MALNUTRITION.