Meal-time Battles and Diets

The diet industry represents a multi-billion dollar industry today. New books and diet programs appear almost every week with offers to help us FINALLY figure out how to eat right and stay in shape. While these programs are typically targeted to adults, the adults who are dealing with their own nutrition issues are also raising the next generation … often with the same rules they learned as kids. Or they are imposing new rules on their children. In many cases, neither of these are appropriate for children.

For example, according to Ellyn Satter, low-fat food is neither nutritionally appropriate nor appealing to toddlers (much less adults!). Likewise, for all the Atkin’s followers out there, starches are not only good for children, but appealing. Satter recommends always having bread and a second starchy food on the table.
Another important shift in philosophy is over control. For all of you raised by the “yours is not to question why, yours is but to do or die” parenting style, consider this. Satter says you’re too controlling if you make your child stay at the table to eat her vegetables; make your child clean her plate or eat everything else before she can have dessert; or if you make your child get by on only three meals a day. However, she says you aren’t providing your child enough structure and limits if you give your child a snack whenever she wants one; let your child behave badly at the table; short-order cook for her; or let your child have juice or milk whenever she wants it. Like most issues of parenting… there’s plenty of give and take.

Adolescents and Weight Loss Diets

According to a nationwide study, 50 to 60% of girls ages 12 to 17 have tried a weight-loss diet. Although child obesity is on the rise and has become a concern to many, teens and their parents should know that weight gain is normal during adolescence. Boys tend to gain weight before a growth spurt, and girls often gain weight before the onset of menstruation. In fact, puberty is a process that requires a certain amount of body fat.

Most active young people between the ages of 11 and 18 need to consume at least 2200 calories per day. Weight-loss diets that restrict calorie intake to1200 calories per day or less can create large energy deficits in adolescents. This lack of adequate calories and nutrients may inhibit growth and cause delayed puberty. In addition, dieting can be the precursor to more severe eating behaviors or disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

If a child’s weight is a concern, the family as a whole can engage in healthier eating habits and more physical activity. This is a positive approach that does not single out the child. In extreme cases, it may be appropriate to place a child on a weight-loss diet. However, this should be discussed with a physician and a dietitian familiar with youth development and nutrient needs.

Dieting Linked to Smoking among Girls

While watching a classic film recently, it seemed that all the characters played by the actors were smoking cigarettes. Then I recalled that was indeed the way it used to be. And, although there are some movies and television programs that have gone back to having main characters smoking, it still is less prevalent than in the days before we learned how detrimental to health smoking really is.

The good news is that in about the past ten years, the percent of high school students in the U.S. who smoked regularly has dropped from about 35 to 23 percent – according to the Centers for Disease Control.


However, there are some teens who appear to be more at risk of picking up the bad habit. Recent research published in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that teenage girls who started diets were twice as likely to start smoking as their peers who did not diet.

Consistent with previous studies, the researchers found that dieting and weight concerns were not related to smoking among boys. Additionally, boys who were not overweight were more likely to try smoking, but were not as likely to smoke regularly.

The researchers suggested that health educators and practitioners should consider the link between initiation of dieting and regular smoking as they develop and use intervention and smoking prevention messages and programs. They also caution that parents need not panic if their child changes their diet. If, for example, your child begins eating healthier and more balanced meals, these changes should be celebrated as part of a healthier overall lifestyle.