One of the biggest problems with children who are overweight, is they eat too many calories, or put too much on their plate, sometimes unknowingly. If your child eats too fast, they tend to take in more than necessary, and don't give their stomach the time to tell them that they are already full. Some children live in a household, where you must eat everything on your plate, which can be good unless the parent is giving them the wrong portion size. Portion sizes for children goes as follows: For toddlers, it is about 1/4 of what you would put on an adult plate. Children 4-8 years old should be given 1/3 of what you yourself would put on your plate. Other factors that could be playing into the too many calories role, is drinking too much whole milk, juice, or soda, or eating high-calorie foods, high-fat food, and junk foods too often and in too large of a portion. http://pediatrics.about.com/od/obesity/a/0608_prtn_cntl.htm
This is a great topic and so true! The portions are getting out of control in restaurants these days and we are getting so use to them that we are more likely to make our portions larger at home as well. Often when I go out to dinner I bring my left overs home and have two additional meals out of them. That means that the portion I received was 3 meals in one! It is not necessary for anyone to eat that large of a portion and it is easy to not realize how many calories you are taking in at one meal. The portion sizes for kids these days are also out of control. I think it is important for parents to do research and find specific portion sizes for their kids ages so they do not over feed them and start a bad habit at such a young age. I have made it a point to try to stop eating when I'm full but many kids to do know to do that. There are some great facts in this article!
ReplyDeleteYes this is definitely true. Every year I feel like the portions at fast food chians and even at nice restaurants are getting bigger and bigger and this is not good. People especially children think that they should eat what is put in front of them and after being told from such a young age that you can leave the table until all the food is gone that is exactly what is happening. People do need to learn to eat slower and give their stomach's a chance to figure out if it is full or not. Also alot of the time people's eyes are bigger than their stomach's and they will order all of this food when in reality they cant even eat half of it. I do think that portion conrol is very important and I think that people need to begin to consider it much more.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was kid I would barely even taste my food that's how fast I ate it. My mother actually put a quick stop to that habit possibly knowing the outcomes of possibly consuming more food due to my bodys inability to read how much food I was actually taking in. However I still tend to push my portion sizes depending on certain meals but for the most part I try to keep everything within moderation
ReplyDeleteChild obesity is such a problem in the U.S. The numbers are shocking. To hear that they should only be given 1/3 of what's on their plate is crazy. I think parents are a big part of this. They not only serve their kids the food but also supply and cook the food. If they expose them to fast food early, they will get hooked and keep eating it. Good information.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! The obesity epidemic in the U.S. is greatly impact by the portion sizes we see as "normal" Resturants and other food suppliers will give larger than normal portion sizes, and that is why we have created such a large portion size as a nation. A suggestion I would recommend to those who are having trouble with this would be to get plates that are divided into section that tell you how the proper portion of food groups. Thanks for sharing!
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