The newly adopted nutrition standards are largely based on recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies and are designed to help in the fight against childhood obesity, which is now affecting 17 percent of children living in the U.S.

Hoping to Turn School Cafeterias
Into Powerhouses of Healthy Nutrition

Under the revised rules, all meals served in school cafeterias will have upper and lower limits of calories, which vary with each age group. Kindergarteners to fifth-graders will receive 550 to 650 calories per meal, 6th to 8th graders about 700 calories, and 12th graders up to 850 calories.

The extra costs for better nutritional quality come to about $6.8 billion over the next five years, according to government estimates. “Schools are definitely going to be challenged by the additional costs of meeting the new rules,” says Dianne Pratt-Heaver, a spokesperson for the School Nutrition Association (SNA), a non-profit organization that represents school cafeteria vendors and operators. The government will pay schools six cents per meal on top of the current rate, which is not nearly enough to cover expenses, according to the SNA. The school lunch program provides daily meals to about 32 million students, often for free or at a reduced price.

Regardless, Ms. Pratt-Heaver says, her organization approves of the new policies. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly known as the American Dietetic Association) has also signaled its support. “Given the realities of federal, state and local budgets, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is committed to leading the creative collaborations that will be needed to implement changes in the school food program,” said Sylvia A. Escott-Stump, a Registered Dietitian and President of the Academy in an official statement by the organization.

The new regulations mark the first overhaul of the school lunch program since the 1990s and will gradually be phased in over the next three year. It was not an easy task, considering the oftentimes vehement opposition from food manufacturers, which culminated in last year’s controversy over whether pizza (or rather the tomato paste topping) should qualify as a vegetable serving. So far, it does, at least legally.

Also somewhat unresolved remains a dispute over the nutritional benefits of potatoes. The National Potato Council (NPC) has voiced strong objections to any attempts to limit servings of potatoes in school lunches, including French fries. “We still feel like the potato is downplayed in favor of other vegetables in the new guidelines,” said Mark Szymanski, a spokesperson for the NPC. “It seems the department still considers the potato a second-class vegetable.”

There is some reason for that. According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health, which followed over 120,000 people for up to 20 years to find out what kinds of food affected their weight, potatoes were found to rank among the greatest weight boosters.

There is a very strong hypothesis that potatoes in particular lead to weight gain, says Professor Walter Willett, an Epidemiologist at Harvard and lead author of the study report. The reason is that potatoes are consumed fully cooked and rapidly broken down into sugar. Sugar is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and eliminated by insulin, which leaves us hungry again after just a few hours. Particularly problematic, Dr. Willett says, are potatoes made into French fries and potato chips, “because they’re designed to make us overeat.”

Fried potatoes are also much higher in calorie and fat content than the steamed or baked varieties because of the oil used in the process. While one baked medium-size potato carries about 110 calories and virtually no fat, a medium-size serving of French fries has about 380 calories and 19 grams of fat.

Calories and fat, of course, are not the only issues. High levels of sodium are of equally great concern. While a medium-size potato contains about 10 mg of sodium (without added salt), a medium-size order of French fries comes with a whopping 270 mg.

Worries about sodium content have also fueled the debate over tomato paste on pizza. While tomatoes in their natural form are almost sodium-free, processed tomatoes like tomato paste, canned tomato sauce and ketchup can have over 1000 mg of sodium per serving (100g). High levels of sodium are known to cause a number of negative health effects, including heart disease and high blood pressure.

As a dietitian and grandmother of kindergarteners and gradeschoolers, I obviously support the changes the new guidelines are trying to achieve. However, much work remains to be done before all school children can receive the quality nutrition they need to grow up healthy and succeed at learning.

Related articles:

1. Subsidized School Lunches Save More Children from Malnutrition and Hunger
2. Feeding Kids Better Food and Teaching Them to Eat Healthy – A Celebrated Chef and Nutrition Service Director for a Unified School District Shows How It’s Done
3. How to Cope With the Back-to-School Routine

We hear about vegetables’ importance to health all the time, but many children and adolescents still don’t eat even one serving a day. Some parents assume that eating vegetables is something kids pick up later in life. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in a recent survey that only 13 percent of high school students say they eat at least 3 servings of vegetables per day. Besides, researchers say, kids who skip vegetables miss out on health benefits that start to build early. It turns out that parents who serve vegetables in ways that they themselves enjoy are the most powerful influence on raising a vegetable eater.

Parents and Have the Most Influence
On Young Children’s Eating Habits

A review of 60 studies concluded that seeing their parents eat and enjoy vegetables was the most powerful influence in promoting vegetable consumption among kids. That’s a problem, since one study of vegetable consumption in young children found that only a quarter of parents ate more than one vegetable a day – a long way from the minimum of three to five servings recommended for adults.

Simply having fruit in the home may be all that’s needed to encourage its consumption, at least for older children who can grab it for a snack on their own. Since vegetables often require some preparation, however, it may be important not only that they are brought home, but that they are served at meals or made ready for snacks.

How much should parents encourage or enforce vegetable consumption? Not all of the 60 studies in the review above addressed this issue, but of those that did, parental encouragement was linked with greater vegetable consumption in children ages six to eleven; parental pressure was generally not. Among adolescents, parents’ vegetable consumption remained an important influence but parental encouragement no longer surfaced as key to vegetable consumption.

Some experts on children’s eating behavior suggest that parental pressure could be a negative influence on their children’s vegetable consumption. They suggest that forcing vegetables or rewarding their consumption teaches children that these are not enjoyable foods. Others say that it may not always be parental pressure that causes kids to proclaim themselves vegetable haters; sometimes kids may become afraid of vegetables and other new foods on their own, leading parents to react out of fear trying to force vegetables.

Dislike of trying new things, including unfamiliar foods, called “neophobia,” is very common in children ages two to five but can continue for years and is linked with low vegetable consumption. Parents help kids gradually outgrow this fear by continuing to serve a variety of foods. Studies show that parents often give up on a new foods after three to five tries. Experts recommend a minimum of 8 to 15 tries, and kids may still need to see and then try a food many times before they truly enjoy it. Very small portions make new foods less overwhelming.

One low-key way to expose children to vegetables and increase their consumption is to incorporate significant amounts of vegetables into mixed dishes. In one study, adding extra pureed vegetables to a mixed pasta dish increased vegetable consumption, and 79 percent of the participating children reported that it tasted the same or better than a low-vegetable version. This study involved a pre-school setting, but the idea can easily be duplicated at home, adding pureed, shredded or chopped vegetables to pasta, soup and other mixed dishes.

While we wait for more answers on how to best encourage a vegetable-eating habit, research suggests a three-part strategy to raise vegetable lovers: Make a wide variety of vegetables available served in different ways that you enjoy and with flavors that generally appeal to your kids; keep serving the vegetables, perhaps trying new ways to fix them, knowing that kids may need many exposures before they really like them; let your children see you enjoying vegetables and encourage, but don’t pressure, them to share in the enjoyment.

Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN is a Registered Dietitian who promotes healthy eating as a syndicated nutrition news columnist, speaker and consultant with the American Institute for Cancer Research. Karen can be contacted about speaking engagements at karen@karencollinsnutrition.com. For more information, please visit www.karencollinsnutrition.com.

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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Kids’ Eating Habits Are Influenced by Many Factors

While the need for more programs for preventing and treating childhood obesity is obvious, experts say that creating them poses considerable challenges. “Few proven models exist for helping children and adolescents to achieve and maintain a healthier weight, and researchers do not even fully understand the factors that contributed to the rapid rise in childhood obesity in recent years,” writes Reed Abelson in an article for the New York Times, titled “Learning to be Lean” (1/17/2012).

Insurance companies are developing new policies to determine treatment coverage of childhood obesity. One insurer, Wellpoint, is working with pediatricians by offering training in obesity treatment and connecting them with dietitians. And Weight Watchers has announced an upcoming program specifically designed to meet the needs of overweight children and teenagers.

Experts agree that for the fight against childhood obesity to be successful, the focus must be on the greater environment today’s children live in, including families, the media, schools and communities.

Parents
The home is the place where children first learn and develop their eating and lifestyle habits. Parents decide what kind of food is being brought into the house, how it is prepared and how much is served at the dinner table. Parents influence through their own behavior what lifestyles their kids adopt, how physically active they are, how much time they spend watching TV, and how much sleep they get.

For these reasons and others, diet- and lifestyle counseling and education should first be directed towards the parents, according to Dr. Adam P. Knowlden and Dr. Manoj Sharma, both pediatricians at the University of Cincinnati and co-authors of a systematic review of clinical studies of pediatric obesity. Unfortunately, the need for educating parents of overweight children is often difficult to meet. Even those who seek counseling (and by far too few do) don’t always have access to the right resources.

Media
Parents are oftentimes defenseless against outside influences, especially the daily onslaught of advertising by food companies that spend billions on TV ads and product placements geared towards children, according to Dr. Victor Strasburger, a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and lead author of a study report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), titled “Children, Adolescents and Advertising.”

“It’s not that easy when you are up against Ronald McDonald,” says Dr. Strasburger, referring to McDonald’s iconic clown character that is popular with many kids. “In fact, it is inherently unfair and deceptive to advertise to children who are too young and too impressionable to distinguish between advertising and factual reporting,” he says.

On average, children watch up to 10,000 food and snack commercials every year, according to the AAP. The best thing parents can hope for is limiting the time their kids are exposed to television and other advertising outlets, which, of course, is easier said than done.

In response to the AAP report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked food manufacturers to regulate their marketing efforts to children but has stopped short of asking for any binding policies. Critics say that calling for voluntary self-regulation by the industry is not sufficient to change the existing advertising practices.

Schools
Despite of the government’s more recent efforts to improve the National School Lunch Program with “The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,” many schools across the country still don’t have the necessary resources for facilities and personnel to meet the nutritional needs of their students. Due to the downturn of the economy in years past, millions of children depend on the free or subsidized meals they receive at their schools, which in many cases is the only food source available to them. School officials say the increase of federal reimbursement for school lunches by 6 cents per meal does not nearly cover the costs for the growing demand.

So, vending machines filled with sodas and snack foods will not disappear from campuses as long as schools depend on corporate funding for many of their programs and services. And physical Education (PE) is still not available in all schools because of budget limits. The bottom line is that too many schools continue to fail doing their part in the fight against childhood obesity.

Communities
When Michelle Obama started the “Let’s Move” initiative, she put much emphasis on the role of communities. In general, the response was strong and countless grassroots movements have been brought to life all over the country ever since. What is sorely lacking, however, are important changes in our infrastructure. Due to budget crunches, more public parks and playgrounds are being closed than opened. Many cities don’t have bike paths or safe areas to run. Low-income neighborhoods are often too dangerous to let kids play outside or even walk to and from school. In a nutshell: Too many communal environments are not designed to allow kids to be physically active and stay healthy and fit.

Of course, there are many more factors to be considered if we are to deal with the childhood obesity crisis effectively. But these are some of the central issues in this complex task. Education of the public, regulation of industry, funding of school lunch programs and other health services for the young as well as building community support systems and infrastructure are all crucial elements in this fight. Addressing all of them in a comprehensive manner might get us somewhere, hopefully sooner rather than later.

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2. Let Kids Play, Learn Together to Combat Childhood Obesity
3. Reshaping the Nutritional Environment for Our Children

Eating well when you’re a vegan or a vegetarian can be challenging even when living at home, but it gets more difficult for students when they’re away at college and have to rely on cafeteria food for their meals. Often, campus dining halls have few vegetarian and vegan options for students, which can make it pretty hard to stay healthy without supplementing cafeteria food with outside groceries, an additional expense many simply can’t afford.

While it’s still hard to find a variety of veggie-friendly options in many college cafeterias, more and more schools are getting hip to the fact that students, even those who aren’t vegans or vegetarians, want healthier, less meat-centric meals, and are planning their menus and designing their meal programs accordingly. Here you’ll find just a few great schools that are catering to the needs of students who follow vegan or vegetarian diets, though, thankfully, the list is growing all the time.

Healthy Eating on Campus Has Become Increasingly Easier

1. American University
This DC college offers several options for vegan and vegetarian students when it comes to on-campus dining. The majority of the school’s dining halls offer vegan and vegetarian dishes at every meal, but if students don’t see what they like on the menu they can send their comments to dining services, which has a record of being quite responsive to student demands when it comes to veggie options. The main dining hall at AU is called the “Terrace Dining Room.” There, students will find a special vegan and vegetarian station stocked with a wide range of foods that may include items like hummus, seitan, tempeh, tofu, veggies, and a variety of other vegan takes on cafeteria favorites. Much of the food at this station and the dining hall as a whole comes from the school’s Eco-Sense club, which grows fresh foods in a campus garden. And if students don’t like what they find in the cafeteria, they can use their dining plan to go elsewhere, including several vegetarian-friendly choices nearby.

2. George Washington University
George Washington University isn’t just home to the “VegFest,” a huge vegetarian celebration where veggies and vegans can come together to share ideas, try foods, and learn more. The school is also providing vegetarian students with some great dining options year-round. GWU has recently implemented a plan for its dining halls that will bring in more fresh fruits and veggies, and most will have clearly labeled vegan and vegetarian options at each meal. There’s a smoothie stand, a large salad bar, fresh veggies, and even vegetarian sushi.

3. Indiana University, Bloomington
Vegan and vegetarian students at IU-Bloomington won’t miss out when it comes to taste. The school has received a lot of buzz for its vegan and vegetarian entrees, which have included items like sesame noodle and pea pod casserole and vegan hot cakes. There are vegan and vegetarian options at most on-campus dining establishments, with the main dining hall featuring one or several every day (which are clearly labeled). Students on the go can also find a variety of snacks and other small food items free from animal products at kiosks and bistros around campus.

4. Yale University
Vegan and vegetarian options at Yale are nothing new. The school has been offering them in some form or another to accommodate students’ dietary needs since the 1970s. In recent years, the number of vegans and vegetarians at Yale has increased and so have its offerings, though many students still want more. Nonetheless, the school is ranked fourth in the nation by PETA2 for vegetarian-friendly dining, with special accolades for its BBQ vegan ribs and vegan enchiladas. Students can find numerous vegan and vegetarian offerings at every dining hall on Yale’s campus.

5. Humboldt State University
If you have special food needs, from being vegan to having to go gluten-free, then this Northern California university might be a good choice for you. Humboldt offers loads of vegan and veggie entrees, and there’s no shortage of tofu, tempeh, or veggies on the menu. Additionally, students can take advantage of the school’s organic salad bar stocked with locally grown produce. Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed: The school was just named the 2nd most vegetarian-friendly college in the U.S. by PETA2.

6. Northwestern University
Northwestern University is another world-class college making the list of vegan-friendly schools, letting students feed their minds and bodies while on campus. The school has topped PETA’s list of vegan-friendly schools for the second year in a row. Students can find a wide range of vegan and vegetarian entrees in campus dining halls, including such delicious-sounding entrees as country-fried seitan with vegan mashed potatoes and tofu French toast. The school also participates in “Meatless Mondays,” encouraging students to choose a meatless entree at least one day a week. Whatever they’re doing seems to be working, as 35-55% of students, vegan or not, are choosing vegetarian or vegan entrees each day.

7. Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins has worked hard to make sure that vegan and vegetarian students are accommodated on campus. There is an all-you-can eat vegetarian and vegan station in the school’s Fresh Food Cafe, that features great options like vegan chili and tofu stir fry. Additionally, other dining halls on campus serve vegetarian entrees daily, have salad and pasta bars, and made-to-order sandwiches. The school is also embracing “Meatless Mondays.” Students can head to the cafeteria on this day and choose from a number of meat-free entrees that vary from week to week.

8. Bastyr University
If having vegetarian and vegan cuisine at the dining hall is important to you, you may want to look into attending this Washington college. The majority of cuisine served in Bastyr’s dining halls is vegetarian, and all dishes are accompanied by an ingredient list, so students know exactly what they’re eating at every meal. And they haven’t forgotten about the vegans. There are loads of vegan-friendly options as well, ranging from soups to sloppy joes to marinated tofu. Even better, a large amount of the food used on campus comes from an on-site garden that is organic and features lots of heritage and unmodified produce. Of course, you’d expect nothing less from one of the top alternative medicine colleges in the country.

9. Georgetown University
Georgetown is a great school with a great program for vegan and vegetarian students. The school has been ranked among the top 10 colleges in the U.S. for vegan and vegetarian friendliness for several years and offers a variety of vegan and vegetarian meals to students in the dining halls every day. Additionally, many of those vegetables come from local courses, currently accounting for about 7% of the total used each year. The school estimates that last year they served over 2,100 vegan meals each week to students, and the number is growing.

10. St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Vegans don’t have to look far to find something good to eat at this Maryland college. Each dining establishment on campus serves a vegan entree daily, and every weekday students can visit the main dining hall and take advantage of the “Greens & Grains” station, serving a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options. Additionally, every day vegan students can find soymilk and other products, vegan cereals, vegan chicken nuggets, and vegan burgers in the cafeteria. All menu items served are clearly labeled as vegan or vegetarian. It’s easy for students to see what’s OK to eat. And for those who are no longer living in the dorms or don’t want to be on the meal plan, the school is home to a student-run vegetarian and vegan co-op.

11. Brandeis University
Among small schools, Brandeis has some of the best vegan food out there, according to its students and PETA. Students can’t get enough of the school’s BBQ veggie riblets, vegan beef tacos, and vegan brownies; and with the school counting a huge rise in the number of vegan and vegetarian students, it’s trying to accommodate them. Each cafeteria station includes at least one veggie option, ranging from comfort food to grilled foods. If students don’t like the vegan options that night, the school also offers an organic salad bar and several meat-free to-go options around campus.

12. University of Puget Sound
Students at this university can head to the “Vegetarian & Co” section of the main dining hall to find some amazing selections like veggie riblets, stuffed Portobello mushrooms, and veggie burgers. There are other options on campus as well, as each dining hall is host to a number of meat-free entrees all day long. For multiple years running, the school has ranked in PETA’s top 10 for vegetarian-friendliness, and that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. Even better, the schools veggie options are also ecologically friendly, using compostable items and sourcing many foods locally.

13. Bennington College
Bennington College is a small school, with only about 670 people on campus. Of those students, an estimated 200 are vegan or vegetarian. So the school has done what they can to accommodate their dietary needs by offering more entrees free of animal products. The food appears to be the better for it, with PETA recognizing the school for its amazing Cajun tofu with Creole sauce and Indonesian tofu and peanut salad wraps. This Vermont school has more than 66 vegan and vegetarian entrees on its menu, and students can find at least one being served each night in the school’s dining halls.

14. Brown University
Brown takes providing for its vegetarian students seriously, and there are a variety of vegetarian options at dining halls and cafes around campus. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that more than a few dining managers and chefs at the schools are vegetarians as well. Students can find items like veggie soups, sandwiches, burgers, pizza and pasta around campus or head to the Ivy Room. In this dining hall it’s all vegetarian all night. The school’s main dining hall also offers a “Roots and Shoots” station where students can choose a wide range of hyper-healthy veggies, tofu, and vegan options.

This article was first published on Best Colleges Online. For more information, please visit www.bestcollegesonline.com

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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The latest data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show an increase of students qualifying for free or low-cost school lunches to 21 million (up from 18 million in 2007), a 17 percent rise. In some states, it is closer to 25 percent. The USDA, which administers the national school lunch program, reported that not since 1972 have so many children become eligible in such a short time.

The Economic Crisis Hits Children the Hardest
And Puts Their Health at Risk

Since its inception in 1946, the school lunch program has steadily expanded and has now a $10.8 billion annual budget, providing 32 million meals every day, 21 million of which are free or subsidized. Children from families of four with annual incomes of under $30K qualify for free meals, while subsidies are available to those from households with less than $42K.

Because of the increasing need, some school districts have added free breakfast- and even supper programs to prevent children from going hungry. But in most places funds are too limited to meet the demand.

These statistics reflect nothing less than a rapidly growing national crisis. The fact that millions and millions of children are dependant on government aid for food is a grave matter. The notoriously poor nutritional quality of many school lunches is lamentable enough. But what happens when children are not in school during vacation times with no access to regular meals? What happens to children who are continuously malnourished, missing out on key nutrients essential for their healthy growth and development?

Young children are most vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition. During growth spurts they need large amounts of calories, protein, fat, vitamins and other nutrients. The optimal development of the brain, the nervous system, musculature, bones and inner organs all depend on a healthy, balanced diet. Children are also more vulnerable to pollutants, toxins and chemicals than adults. Nutritionally inferior food products can be quite harmful to them.

Ideally, all children should be given the necessary means to grow up to their full potential. A healthy start can make that all the more possible. But that’s not what’s happening today for so many youngsters. Instead, childhood obesity is reaching crisis level. Often it’s the poorest kids who suffer from weight problems, not because they overeat, but because the junk food their parents can afford to buy them makes them sick. Only access to good nutrition at home and in schools could turn the tide.

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, America is no longer the land of plenty we took for granted just a short while ago, certainly not for all, perhaps not for most. The question is what we are going to do about it. We can’t simply ignore the fact that millions of children in our midst don’t have enough or the right kind of food to eat. The damage that is being done to their health at a young age will continue to hold them back for the rest of their lives. We cannot ignore the dire consequences this will have for us all. A society full of sick people is not viable. Nothing less than the country’s future is at stake.

Asking to invest more money in the school lunch program to expand its services and improve its quality is not easy at a time when budget cuts and austerity measures are all the talk in Washington. But this is an emergency situation and we have to get our priorities straight. Americans have always pulled together when the country’s security was threatened. This is one these moments.

Related articles:

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3. Feeding Kids Better Food and Teaching Them to Eat Healthy – A Celebrated Chef and Nutrition Service Director for a Unified School District Shows How It’s Done

It’s an old and excellent adage that effective parents give children roots to grow and wings to fly. Every child needs the security of a firm base and the self-confidence to leave it one day. A central part of this process is helping children to develop self-esteem. Self-esteem is the confidence that we are competent to deal with the basic challenges of life – and also the feeling that we are worthy of happiness.

An Important Part of Parenting Is to Give
Children a Clear Sense of Their Own Value

Having self-esteem entails trust in one’s own mind. It also means that we have confidence in our own value, in our right to be treated with respect and benevolence, and moreover, in our right to personal happiness and joy.

The Value of self-esteem
There is practical importance in developing self-esteem in your children when they are young. As we grow and develop, we continually face challenges of one kind or another. A child or adult who believes in his/her own personal resources is far better situated to live life successfully than a child who is inhibited or paralyzed by self-doubt and self-distrust.

The person who has no confidence in his own ability all too often allows someone else to run his life. It is rare that anything positive comes from that.

Second Consideration: Children who have a clear sense of their own value tend to treat other people well. And they expect that others are going to deal with them in the same way. They don’t tolerate mistreatment – so that when they perceive someone is mistreating them, they withdraw and find a relationship in which they will be treated better.

Treat your child with respect
Children do not grow up in a vacuum. They grow up in a social setting, surrounded by other people. Most of their early learning occurs through encounters with their parents, grandparents, siblings and others who come into the family circle.

The most important factor to consider when giving your child the basis for a happy adult life is to treat him with courtesy, respect and benevolence from the very beginning, so that the child comes to expect and perceive these qualities as normal.

The child will come to understand this respectful behavior as the best way to communicate with other people. Then when your child encounters abusive behavior, he will see it as undesirable and unacceptable.

Often a child has a sense of being loved by his parents but not of being respected. Children become frustrated when they’re not taken seriously by adults. I remember one of my clients saying, “My father talks with more courtesy and respect to everyone else than he talks to me. And yet, I know he would die for me. It’s very confusing.”

Strategy: When your children are talking, look at them and listen while they are speaking. Don’t cut them off or finish sentences for them. Don’t unnecessarily correct them or do other work when they are talking to you. They can sense our impatience or lack of interest.

Example: One day, I was swinging my granddaughter around by the arms. This was something she loved. But at some point, she said, “Let me down, Grandpa.” But because I was having so much fun myself, I continued to swing her. She said, “Grandpa, you’re not listening.” And I immediately realized that I wasn’t and set her back down on the floor.

By listening to what my granddaughter said, I treated her feelings with respect. A child who is not allowed to have a voice in what happens to him will not feel entitled to his own views as an adult.

The first language is touch
Long before a child can understand words, he understands touch. Declarations of love without touch are unconvincing and hollow. Hugging and kissing your child and holding his hand are very basic and important ways of expressing love, comfort, support and nurturing.

Through touch we send sensory stimulation that helps the child’s brain develop. Children need to experience that their person is loved and valued.

Inspire, rather than demand
I say inspire because you can’t give child self-esteem. Self-esteem is always generated from within. How do you inspire self-esteem in a child? Obviously, if you treat a child with love, respect and acceptance, then you create the context in which the best chance exists that the child is going to internalize your messages and generate a powerful sense of self from within.

Parents also should remember that it is important to respect the child’s need to struggle in the learning process. At one point or another, the parent may want to step in and tell the child the answer or show him how to solve the problem. But the fact that the child is wrestling with the learning process doesn’t mean that anything is wrong.

All learning involves some struggle. Part of the feeling of achievement that comes from learning is the sense of having tackled a problem and subdued it – of having won by virtue of your own efforts.

The parent may be motivated by good intentions in trying to solve the problem for the child, but the parent is really aborting the child’s learning process. Children need to know the extent of their own abilities – that they can overcome problems in the world, even if it takes a certain amount of effort.

Encourage your child’s curiosity
It is important to support your child’s curiosity. Take his probing questions seriously and with respect, instead of dismissing them as silly or trivial. Children live in a world that is completely new to them. They must learn everything from the ground up, from the beginning. Their questions are part of an orientation process that goes on for years and that shapes their views of the world.

Solution: One of the most important things you can do to nurture a child’s curiosity is teach how to think, not what to think.

One of the responsibilities of parents or teachers is to prepare a child for independent survival as an adult. That preparation isn’t just an issue of reading, writing and arithmetic or manners. Most fundamentally, success in adult life depends on the ability to think and to learn.

Nathaniel Branden, PhD is a Doctor of Psychology with a background in Philosophy. He is best known for his pioneering work in the field of self-esteem and personal development. Author, lecturer and therapist, he is also a corporate consultant who teaches clients how the principles of self-esteem can help them to meet the challenges of modern business. Many of his 17 books have been translated into 18 foreign languages with four million copies sold worldwide. They include, “The Psychology of Self-Esteem,” “How to Raise Your Self-Esteem,” “The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem,” “The Art of Living Consciously,” and his memoir, “My Years With Ayn Rand.” For more information, please visit www.nathanielbranden.com

This article was originally published in “Bottom Line Personal.” Reprinted with permission.

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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In what “Obama Foodorama” calls “a fundamental shift in the Let’s Move campaign,” Michelle Obama announced in a speech last week that she will now focus on getting kids to be more active. Apparently, she has given up on encouraging food companies to make healthier products and stop marketing junk foods to kids. This shift is troubling.

Here’s why:

The shift is based on faulty biology
To lose weight, most people have to eat less whether or not they move more. For example, it takes about three miles of walking to compensate for the calories in one 20-ounce soda. Activity is important for health, but to lose or maintain weight, kids also need to eat less. Sometimes they need to eat much less. And discouraging them from drinking sugary sodas is a good first step in controlling body weight. But eating and drinking less are very bad for business. Food companies do all they can to oppose this advice.

It undercuts healthy eating messages
On the one hand, Mrs. Obama says that she disagrees with this assumption: “Kids don’t like healthy food, so why should we bother trying to feed it to them.” But her speech implies that kids won’t eat healthfully unless forced to: “I want to emphasize that last point – the importance of really promoting physical activity to our kids…This isn’t forcing them to eat their vegetables. (Laughter.) It’s getting them to go out there and have fun.”

It declares victory prematurely
Mrs. Obama says: “Major food manufacturers are cutting sugar, salt and fat from their products. Restaurants are revamping kids’ menus and loading them with healthier, fresher options. Companies like Walgreens, SuperValu, Walmart and Calhoun’s Grocery are committing to build new stores and to sell fresh food in underserved communities all across this country. Congress passed historic legislation to provide more nutritious school meals to millions of American children. Our schools are growing gardens all over the place. Cities and towns are opening farmers markets. Congregations are holding summer nutrition programs for their kids. Parents are reading those food labels, and they’re rethinking the meals and the snacks that they serve their kids. So while we still have a long way to go, we have seen so much good progress. We’ve begun to have an impact on how, and what, our kids are eating every single day. And that is so important. It’s so important.”

Really? I’d say we’ve seen promises from food companies but remarkably little action. Mrs. Obama’s speech fails to mention what I’m guessing is the real reason for the shift: “Move more” is not politically loaded. “Eat less” is.

Everyone loves to promote physical activity. Trying to get the food industry to budge on product formulations and marketing to kids is an uphill battle that confronts intense, highly paid lobbying.

You don’t believe this? Consider recent examples of food industry opposition to anti-obesity efforts:

• Soda companies successfully defeated efforts to impose taxes on soft drinks.

• Food companies successfully defeated efforts by four federal agencies to set voluntary standards for marketing foods to children.

• Food companies successfully lobbied Congress to pass a law forbidding the USDA from setting standards for school meals regarding potatoes, tomato sauce and whole grains. The result: Pizza tomato sauce now counts as a vegetable serving.

• McDonald’s and Burger King evaded San Francisco’s new rules restricting toys with kids meals by selling the toys separately for ten cents each.

The political cost of fighting the food industry is surely the reason for the change in Mrs. Obama’s rhetoric. Now she agrees that kids won’t eat vegetables unless forced to.

But in March 2010 Mrs. Obama warned the Grocery Manufacturers Association: “We need you…to entirely rethink the products that you’re offering, […] the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children. […] This isn’t about finding creative ways to market products as healthy.”

The food industry understood those as fighting words. It fought back with weapons at its disposal, one of which is to deflect attention from food by focusing on physical activity. It now has White House endorsement of this deflection.

I’m all for promoting physical activity but the refocusing is a loss, not a win, in the fight against childhood obesity.

Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH is the author of many influential books, among them “Food Politics,” “Safe Food,” “What to Eat” and “Pet Food Politics.” She teaches as Professor in the Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health Department at New York University. You can e-mail her at food@sfchronicle.com and read her regular columns at www.sfgate.com/food

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

Related articles:

1. Food Industry: Walk the Talk to Protect Our Kids’ Health
2. What Will It Take to Get America’s Kids to Eat Right?
3. Teaching Kids How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun

Even kids who eat healthily are vulnerable to nutrition deficits. There are a number of nutrients children are most likely to be short on. Sometimes supplements are needed, but many times, a few tweaks in the diet are all it takes.

Iron
The most common deficiency is iron. This remains a major challenge in developing countries, but it’s also still fairly common here in the U.S. According to the 2008 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance Survey, nearly 15 percent of children 5 years and younger have iron deficiency anemia. Another vulnerable time for iron deficiency is during adolescence (for girls) when menstruation starts.

During the first few years, there is rapid growth and the body can have trouble keeping up if there’s not enough iron. While iron has many functions in the body, one of its key responsibilities is to carry oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. During rapid growth this process goes on overdrive. When women and young girls have their monthly period, they lose additional amounts of iron.

There are two stages of iron deficiency. When iron stores are depleted, iron deficiency occurs, but there are usually no symptoms. But once iron deficiency anemia sets in, the levels in the blood dip. Symptoms include tiredness, decreased immune function, impaired or slowed cognitive performance and glossitis (inflamed tongue).

The recommended amount of iron is 11mg for 7 to 12 months, 7mg for 1 to 3 years, 10mg for 4 to 8 years, 8mg for 9 to 13 years, 15mg for females 14 to 18 years, and 11mg for males 14 to 18 years. Food sources include meat, fish, poultry, beans, leafy greens, fortified cereals and breads.

Heme sources of iron (meat, poultry and fish) are better absorbed by the body than non-heme (plant sources). But by including non-heme with heme sources, you increase the absorption of the latter. Vitamin C also increases the absorption of non-heme sources of iron by 3 to 4 times. Some great food combos are vitamin C-rich fruit with fortified cereals and waffles, tomatoes with beans (think soups and burritos), and chili that contains meat, beans and tomatoes.

Vitamin E
According to the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS), 63 percent of toddlers and 37 percent of preschoolers fall short on vitamin E (infants actually meet or exceed their needs). Other studies have shown that most age groups don’t meet the recommended daily amount for vitamin E, which mainly functions as an antioxidant (protecting cells from the harmful effects of free radicals.) As a fat-soluble vitamin, vitamin E also needs fat to be absorbed.

While no one knows for sure, there is speculation that the increased use of lower fat products, such as salad dressings, may be one of the reasons vitamin E intake is inadequate. That’s because vitamin E is found in vegetable oils and nuts and seeds. Vitamin E deficiency is rare and symptoms have not been reported in people with subpar intake.

The recommended amount of vitamin E is 5mg for 7 to12 months, 6mg for 1 to 3 years, 7mg for 4 to 8 years, 11mg for 9 to13 years and 15mg for 14 years and older. Food sources include nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and avocado.

Crunchy nuts make great snacks for older kids. Avocado is the perfect substitution for mayonnaise on sandwiches. Wheat germ, a super source of vitamin E, is great in smoothies and baked goods.

Vitamin D
Even though it’s called a vitamin, scientists tend to think of vitamin D more like a hormone because of its function. While vitamin D is needed to deposit calcium in bones, it also plays a role in many other bodily functions as every cell in the body has a vitamin D receptor. Inadequate intake has been linked to the development of certain cancers, immune-disorders, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

While most conservative estimates show that 25 percent of the population has low blood levels of vitamin D, a study in the journal Pediatrics found that 7 out of 10 kids had blood levels that were inadequate. The reason for the discrepancy is that researchers have not come yet to a consensus on what blood levels are optimal.

For most of human history, people did not rely on food to get their vitamin D – they got it from the sun. With sunscreen, indoor jobs and obesity, most people don’t get the amount of vitamin D their bodies need. Consider that half an hour in the sun provides 10,000 IU of vitamin D – a glass of milk only contains 100 IU.

Rickets is the result of severe vitamin D deficiency and is rare but still reported. Low vitamin D status often goes unnoticed. Symptoms may include bone pain and muscle weakness.

The recommended amount of vitamin D recently increased to 400 IU for 6 to12 months and 600 IU for 1 year and older kids. Food sources include fatty fish, fish liver oils and fortified products such as milk and orange juice. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that breastfed infants receive supplements of 400 IU/day of vitamin D, and older kids who don’t get enough through food supplement as well.

Calcium
I once had the chance to talk to Karen Kafer, a registered dietitian at the National Dairy Council, and pick her brain. She explained how strong bones built during childhood and adolescence can help lower the risk of osteoporosis in later years. This bone-building occurs until we about 30 years of age, then the body stops adding new bone mass. So what we are doing during this time – eating well, getting enough calcium and exercise – can make the difference between a frail and a strong skeleton.

“Many children and adults (with the exception of children 1 to 3 years old) aren’t getting the amount of calcium recommended for their age group – and some have particularly low intakes,” says Kafer. “For example, only 15 percent of females age 9 to13 years and 13 percent of females age 14 to18 meet their calcium needs – and that’s from all sources, diet and supplements.

According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, by the time a girl reaches 19, she’s drinking three times more soda and 25 percent less milk than she did as a child. Right when calcium needs to shoot up and peak bone-building occurs, calcium intake declines, with soda and other sweetened beverages replacing calcium-rich milk.

The recommended amount of calcium is 700 mg for 1 to3 years, 1000 mg for 4 to 8 years, 1300 mg for 13 to 18 year olds. Symptoms of calcium deficiency most likely won’t show up until later in life.

Potassium
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, potassium is a shortfall nutrient in the American diet. The FITS study indicates that young children also come up short.

Potassium is an electrolyte involved in cellular and electrical body functions. It is essential for the health of tissue, cells and vital organs. As electrolytes, sodium and potassium work together as a ‘team.’ Too much sodium can increase blood pressure, while potassium has the opposite effect. Adequate potassium in the diet also decreases the risk of kidney stones and enhances bone health.

Nutritional health experts speculate that low potassium levels are due to less-than-adequate intakes of fruits, vegetables and dairy products and too many processed foods and sweetened beverages.

Recommended amounts of potassium include 3g for 1 to 3 years, 3.8g for 4 to 8 years, 4.5g for 9 to 13 years and 4.7g for 14 to 18 years. Because potassium is contained in so many foods, an overt deficiency caused by diet is rare. Yet moderate reductions in potassium can increase the risk of high blood pressure.

Essential fatty acids
It’s important to note that many kids are not getting the right types of fat and, in some cases, may not be getting enough total fat. According to the FITS study, total fat intake in children 5 and younger is actually below “acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges.” But it’s the imbalance of the types of fat that children are consuming that is problematic.

Fiber
Fiber is the indigestible part of carbohydrates that plays an important role in health. Most Americans don’t get enough, and that includes children. Beans and peas are the star players when it comes to fiber, followed by fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. Fiber helps with feeling full, prevents constipation and has other benefits.

When people consume too many processed foods, like white bread, juice, meats, and not enough fresh foods, fiber intake lags behind.

The adequate intake for fiber is 14 g per 1,000 calories, or 25 g per day for women and 38 g per day for men. Most Americans get only 15 g per day.

References
Polhamus B, Dalenius k, Nackentosh H, Smith b, Grummer-Strawn l. Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance 2008 Report, Atlanta GA: US Department of Health and Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 2009.

Butte NF, Fox MK, Briefel RR, Siega-Riz AM, Dwyer JT, Deming DM, Reidy KC. Nutrient intakes of US Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers meet or exceed dietary reference intakes. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110: S27-S37.

Vitamin D Report CDC

Kumar J, Muntner P, Kaskel FJ, Hailpern SM, Melamed ML. Prevalence and associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in US children: Nhanes 2001-2004. Pediatrics (doi: 10.1542/peds. 2009-0051.)

Striegel-Moore RH, Thompson D, Affenito SG, Franko DL, Obarzanek E, Barton BA, Schreiber GB, Daniels SR, Schmidt M, Crawford PB. Correlates of beverage intake in adolescent girls: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study. J Pediatr. 2006 Feb; 148 (2):183-7.

2010 Dietary Guidelines Report

Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian with 15 years experience in the field of nutrition. Based in San Diego, Maryann works as a freelance writer and is the founder and editor of “Raise Healthy Eaters,” a popular blog about family nutrition. Since the creation of her blog in early 2009, Maryann has become a well-known family nutrition expert. Her blog has been featured on Technorati’s Top 100 for health and family and she has been named “Expert Curator” by Organized Wisdom’s Medical Review Team. Maryann has been quoted in leading newspapers and magazines, including the ChicagoTribune, Parents, American Profile and Harmony; her articles have appeared in CookingLight.com, The Los Angeles Times, Today’s Dietitian and Today’s Diet and Nutrition. For more information, please visit www.raisehealthyeaters.com

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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Congress Blocks Improvement of School Lunches, Citing Costs

The lawmakers named cost increases that would exceed the budget limitations of the coming agriculture spending bill as their main reason for keeping new school meal regulations from going into effect at this time. The USDA plan would have added $6.8 billion to the current expenditures, or about 14 cents per meal.

The proposed changes in the school lunch program would have been the first in 15 year. In keeping with the Obama administration’s commitment to reduce childhood obesity, the new rules would have altered the way schools get credit for serving more fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed items, like pizza, burgers and French fries. Schools that serve federally subsidized meals to students from low-income households are expected to be in compliance with the nutritional guidelines they receive from the government.

The USDA’s proposal was in large parts based on recommendations issued in 2009 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). When the new guidelines were first made public last January, the Obama administration hailed the plan as an important tool “to stem the tide of childhood obesity and reduce future health care costs.”

But food manufacturers and even some school districts quickly objected to the new requirements, arguing that it was not the government’s place to specify what foods can or cannot be served in school cafeterias.

The USDA expressed disappointment over the derailing of its plan: “It is unfortunate that some in Congress chose to bow to special interests,” said a spokesperson for the agency.

While supporters of the congressional action called it “reasonable” and important to “prevent overly burdensome and costly regulations,” nutrition experts generally sided with the USDA and viewed it as a setback.

“It’s a shame that Congress seems more interested in protecting industry than protecting children’s health,” said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit advocacy group. “At a time when child nutrition and childhood obesity are national health concerns, Congress should be supporting USDA and school efforts to serve healthier school meals, not undermining them,” she added.

Some points of contention over the USDA plan seem downright outlandish. For example, pizza makers insist that a quarter-cup of tomato paste per slice should count as one vegetable serving. The USDA says pizza toppings should be more in line with other fruit pastes and purees, which require higher amounts to be given credit as a serving.

Never mind such silly quibbling over minor details. The bottom line is that unhealthy food items have no place on a school lunch menu, no matter what the law calls them. While it makes sense to control costs in times of economic hardship, imposing austerity measures at the expense of our children’s health is not the way to go.

If school lunches continue to be of poor nutritional quality, a much higher price will have to be paid down the road in terms of health care costs. Meeting the nutritional needs of our youngsters today is an essential investment in our future as a country that should not be made a political football.

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3. School Lunches Will Improve, But More Work Needs to Be Done

It is at best ironic that America duped its families about food just as Americans gathered for the quintessential celebration of family and food – Thanksgiving. Congress gave us all permission to serve our children pizza as a vegetable.

Good health is perennially on the list of reasons any family has to be thankful, and food is among the most potent of influences on health – for good or for ill. The differential effects of pizza and a mixed green salad on health don’t change just because politicians play around with the lexicon.

If Government Fails to Protect Our Children’s Health
Parents and Grandparents Must Act on Their Behalf

The putative excuse for listing pizza as a vegetable – like ketchup before it – is the inclusion of tomatoes in the recipe. That would be ludicrous enough if pizza were mostly about tomato sauce, and if tomato sauce were all about tomatoes. Of course, pizza tends to be much about cheese, white flour and toppings that include pepperoni. The plot thickens in the vat where the tomato sauce is made.

Commercial tomato sauces, like ketchup, can and often do contain mildly surprising concentrations of salt and downright shocking additions of sugar. In fact, I have personally analyzed marinara sauces that, calorie for calorie, contain more added sugar than chocolate ice cream topping. Letting tomato sauce on its own qualify as a vegetable would be questionable enough. As for the fact that a tomato is technically a fruit – well, let’s not even go there.

Congress reached its preposterous judgment about pizza at the urging of lobbyists working on behalf of food companies working to protect their slice of the pie, as it were. Pizza is a good moneymaker in school cafeteria lines.

But we the people – the parents and grandparents in the United States – need not submit passively to such obvious, exploitative nonsense. We need not sit idly by as corporate interests trump interest in the well-being of our children. Not at a time when what used to be adult onset diabetes (i.e., type 2) becomes ever more common in children under age 10. Not at a time when cardiac risk factors proliferate in pre-teens. Not at a time when a reported 35 percent increase in the rate of stroke among 5 to14 year-olds demands nothing less than a crisis response.

We need not submit to such folly, fraught with such peril. We can, and should, say: No thanks!

We can say no thanks to superintendents, school boards, principals, and school food service directors. I can’t think of a reason a loving parent or grandparent would remain silent. We can say no thanks to the food companies that put this modest addition to their profits ahead of the dire prognosis facing our children – and theirs, for that matter. And we can say no thanks to members of Congress who bartered the fate of our children for the favors of the highest bidder. We can show them out, at the next election. And unless something springs readily to mind that matters more than protecting the health and potential of our kids – we certainly should.

At a holiday interlude that highlights the love of family and the great traditions of our country – I am thankful for the possibility that loving families can still shape the traditions of our country. When righteous indignation unites us, a nation of loving parents and grandparents can be the mightiest special interest group that ever was.

I have abundant cause to give thanks, and so I do. Among them is the fact that I live in a country that affords me, and you, many ways to say: No thanks!

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP is the founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center. He is a board certified specialist in both Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine/Public Health. He is the director and founder of the Integrative Medicine Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby, CT. For more information visit http://www.davidkatzmd.com

The articles written by guest contributors are the sole responsibility of the individual writers in terms of factual accuracy and opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher of this blog.

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