Messages about healthy eating

How do parents teach their kids about appropriate food choices?

The Australasian Society for the Study of Obesity recommends that parents steer away from talking to their children about 'good' or 'bad' foods or concentrating on the amount of fat or calories that are in a particular food. Instead a discussion of how often foods should be eaten can empower even quite young children to start making good eating choices that will help them on along the road to a long and healthy life.

Everyday foods

Everyday foods are those that give us the energy and nutrients we all need to be healthy and active, without lots of sugar and fat. They include fruits and vegetables; grain-based foods like rice, pasta and noodles; lean meats and low-fat dairy products. Encourage your kids to eat and enjoy fresh and unprocessed foods, and don't forget that you can do their health a huge favour by getting them used to drinking plenty of water.

Think about foods

Children should be encouraged to think about how often they should eat foods that provide some nutrients but are also potentially high in sugar or fat or may include some unhealthy ingredients. These include processed meats; full-fat dairy products and snack foods like biscuits, muffins and cakes.

It is worth remembering that some foods which are marketed as healthy options, like some muesli bars, breakfast cereals and fruit juices are still "think about" foods because they can have sugar and fat levels.

Sometimes foods

Foods that are high in sugar or fat and provide few nutrients are sometimes foods. These foods include pastries, deep-fried foods, sugary drinks, savoury snack foods like chips, ice-cream and butter. Encourage your kids to view these as occasional treats rather than to expect them every day.

The message then is one of balance. Food should be an enjoyable experience and we can all enjoy a sometimes treat and still look after our health.

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