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"I hate to admit it, but we do take the kids to a fast-food restaurant at least twice a week."
Is the drive-through window getting more use than your kitchen table at home? Depending on how busy parents are, fries, burgers and soda are often the evening meal during the school year. While fast food has the accurate reputation as a "heart attack on a plate," the reality is, most people do need "a break" at least once a week.
If you are visiting the Golden Arches on a regular basis, then it is important to become an educated consumer. The fact is, research shows not all children naturally regulate their body weight once they are past infancy. Kids who are overweight seem to have less ability to sense when they have consumed enough calories.
In other words, if they are eating high-fat foods, they rarely stop eating in response to the caloric content of the food. Normal weight children are more likely to leave a part of their French fries, because they feel "too full."
Why do some children self-regulate portions while others "polish the plate"? No one knows for sure, but it is probably a combination of genetics and environment.
Encouraging sensitivity to physiological signals of hunger and satiety can be fostered by following these principles: 1. children will eat when they are hungry, and should not be forced to eat; 2. parental control of amounts of food eaten teaches children to ignore internal hunger cues; 3. parents who are highly controlling of timing and amounts of food eaten are more likely to have a child that is unable to regulate their food intake naturally.
What can a parent do to encourage a healthy diet? Put a limit on the types of foods that can be ordered when at a fast-food restaurant. Frequent restaurants that offer low fat choices such as baked potatoes, chicken sandwiches, bean burritos and frozen yogurt. Avoid deep-fried and supersize sandwiches that encourage overconsumption of calories. Keep fruit handy for snacks, and avoid bringing chips and highly processed snack foods home from the grocery store.
No single food is a balanced diet. Next time you bring home hamburgers for dinner, don't forget the lettuce and tomato on top.
Good nutrition -- it really is pretty simple.