Katie A. Loth leads the group of researchers who have published in Pediatrics a study on parenting practices that are related to the feeding of children. It has been studied food restriction and also the pressure towards consumption, and its relationship with the weight of adolescents.
We all know that despite the recommendations we have heard on dozens of occasions (those that speak to us about self-regulation), other tips that parents reach us are comfortably installed in our brain, and even today, not a few children are forced to finish the plate or swallow a huge snack snack that you don't like at all. It is not that we have to give in to the child snack every day a bun filled with cream, because there is no way to accept the fruit, it is something as simple as providing healthy food, in portions that are not excessive, and above all from 'don't force them to finish their meal', that we know a lot about that since our own parents have transmitted it to us.
But Dr. Loth (of the University of Minnesota), and her collaborators, go further: if our effort to be part of the 'clean plate club' is harmful, it is also wanting to protect them at all costs from 'junk' food . It seems to me that this can be an adaptation of what we read in 'It makes me a ball', when Julio Basulto states that in relation to unhealthy foods, we must follow the general rule that says: 'do not deny, do not offer'
Today there is evidence of detrimental effects of control of feeding practices on the child's ability to self-regulate energy intake. This is one of the conclusions of the study published in Pediatrics, and we are assured that the findings suggest that parents should be educated and trained through preventive guidance to encourage moderation rather than excessive consumption and emphasize food choices. healthy instead of adopting restrictive eating patterns.
Actually, the results offered by Pediatrics are a combination of two different studies: the EAT project (eating among Teens) and the F - EAT (which includes the intervention of families). Eating habits and parental practices have been collected in more than 2,200 adolescents and 3,400 parents in Minnesota.
Curiously, a link has been found between 'prohibition' and overweight, in the same way that members of the research team have been able to determine a low relationship between parental pressure behaviors and inadequate body weight, however all the effects of this type of practice cannot be specified in a certain weight.
In fact, Katie Loth states that it is not advisable to press for children to finish the meal, because with this practice, parents we inhibit the natural capacity of the kids to realize 'when your stomachs are full'. Stop paying attention to the body itself, and be guided by the imposed signals, can lead to problems such as being overweight.
Research has shown that when a parent restricts a particular food, the child is more interested in consuming it in excess, Loth insists that parents should be educated to allow your children to eat all food in moderation. However, I am convinced that while it is true that 'denying' can give unexpected results, letting them eat 'everything' in moderation does not seem like a good solution; that is to say: from that 'of everything' I would exclude hyper-caloric foods, and to that end, I would try not to be present at home.
Among other data obtained from the study, it stands out that fathers have a greater tendency to force than mothers, and that male adolescents suffer more from the pressure of these inappropriate practices than girls
The authors of the study recommend practices such as family meals as often as possible, having nutritious snacks at home, choosing healthy foods and encouraging young people to make better decisions in their diet as a way to fight weight problems. .
Finally, if we have already seen that during childhood nutritional practices are consolidated, when adolescence arrives, eating patterns are also very important, since a healthy and balanced diet can act as a factor in preventing eating disorders (including obesity), and avoidance of noncommunicable diseases.
Images | stevendamron Via | CNN Health More information | University of Minnesota In Peques and More | Tips for children who do not want to eat Do your children eat little ?: these tips and tricks may help you, Decalogue for a healthier infant feeding
