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Strollerderby
They Say: We Watch What Our Kids Eat
Parents are no better than any other adult at choosing low-calorie meals for ourselves. We splurge when we think our skinny pants aren’t looking, swear we’ll do better next time and then sneak another cookie.
But we’re doing better with our kids. Consumerist reports that parents choose lower calorie meals for their kids when they have the calorie information available to them in a restaurant.
Without calorie counts in front of them, parents were ordering meals around 670 calories for their little ones. With the calorie information, they cut back to 570 calorie meals for the kiddos.
Those extra calories can add up. An adult eating an extra 100 calories a day can gain as much as ten pounds in a year. Of course kids are supposed to gain weight, but we’d like them to be growing on healthy, nutritive foods. Some experts estimate that as much as 40% of the calories American kids take in come from non-nutritive sources like sugars and fats.
With kids snacking all day long and childhood obesity on the rise, it’s refreshing to know we’re doing something right when it comes to feeding our kids a little less. The real question is, why aren’t we doing better for ourselves?
Photo: Woodley Wonderworks
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4 Comments
[...] while we need to be cognizant of what our kids are taking in, the way to fight childhood obesity is through teaching healthier choices and exercise [...]
Should Michelle Obama Talk About Girls’ Brush With Fat? | Strollerderby commented on Feb 03 10 at 12:50 pm[...] They Say: We Watch What Our Kids Eat SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “The Cat and the Hat Comes to iPhone”, url: “http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2010/02/17/the-cat-and-the-hat-comes-to-iphone/” }); Related Posts:Elmo Rocks the iPhone [...]
The Cat and the Hat Comes to iPhone | Strollerderby commented on Feb 17 10 at 12:40 pmAngela commented on Jan 28 10 at 9:23 pmActually one of my pet peeves are parents who put their kids on diets that they refuse to follow themselves. No matter what you feed your kids they will eventually choose food for themselves and if you don’t set an example of valuing good health why should they?
Ellen commented on Jan 30 10 at 12:38 pmI get a little nervous when I see fats referred to as a “non-nutritive source”, especially where kids are concerned. Kids *require* fats to build healthy nervous systems and to process the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). That’s why even the mainstream medical organizations, who are obsessed with saturated fat, recommend that lowfat milk not be given to toddlers.
Incidentally, if you still believe that all calories are equal and “An adult eating an extra 100 calories a day can gain as much as ten pounds in a year”, I strongly recommend science journalist Gary Taubes’ book _Good Calories, Bad Calories_. The research strongly suggests otherwise.
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