Inappropriate nutrition in childhood can have serious consequences in adulthood. The first three years also play an important role in the development of later eating habits. In addition to nutrition, movement also contributes to a healthy lifestyle.
The food consumed by a child in the first three years of life significantly determines his later health, said István Takács, an internal medicine specialist. He said there were a number of illnesses in which the condition of the childhood affects the appearance of adult illness. He mentioned obesity as an example, as surveys show that children who are 3 years old are overweight in 80% of their adulthood.
Adult overweight can lead to a number of other illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or various cardiovascular problems, explained István Takács in the Kossuth Radio Day.
Attention is important from birth
Many parents believe that their children will grow obesity in their later years and need to correct their eating habits, but according to the internal therapist, this misconception must be forgotten, and from the birth of the child, attention should be paid to their meals.
After the birth of a child, leaving the breastfeeding, it is strongly determined what a child can eat. István Takács said that experience shows that after breastfeeding, parents give the child relatively fast food to the child. He emphasized that this is a bad habit, because these foods do not cover the needs of a minor child. He needs important minerals such as iron, calcium and various vitamins for a small child's body - he added.
Nutrition is also crucial before the child is born
In the child's life, the meals and drinks consumed by the mother were already decisive during the period of fetal development. She said, based on a study, 40 percent of pregnant women change their diet only during pregnancy. Many also misunderstand the fact that they are not replacing after six months of age, but need to supplement breast milk with other food sources. He drew attention to the high intake of salt in 99% of children aged 2-3 years.
Strict rules should be set for the diet
Strict rules should be used to build and develop children's diets, the expert said, adding that if we are uncertain, we can now seek advice from a number of dieticians and nutritionists.
A parent should also know the concept of moderation, so if a child wants sweets, do not give him a whole table of chocolate, but only a small part of it - said Anna Kovács, a member of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical and Food Health. He thinks that some foods would not need people at all, such as energy drinks and various carbonated, sugary drinks. According to him, our children should be educated so that these drinks are unhealthy and harmful to the body.
Movement is important at all ages
As a parent, show an example to our child. If you see that Mom and Dad like to move, you will probably love different sports and leisure activities later on, - Anna Kovács pointed out.
The program of the Ovi-Sport Public Benefit Foundation, which aims to provide support for the movement of children of pre-school age, the development of their abilities, their sporting activities and the training of young people, also draws attention to the movement. The foundation supports children to spend their free time in the open, with active movement. This has a significant role in health preservation and in the prevention of illnesses resulting from the lack of movement. There are already 341 kindergartens in Hungary.
(Source: marmalade.co.uk; hirado.com | Image: pixabay.com)