Healthy Diet in Children: Facts and Keys

Khodaee, Gholam Hasan; Emami Moghadam, Zahra; Khademi, Gholamreza; Saeidi, Masumeh

doi:10.22038/ijp.2015.6238

Healthy Diet in Children: Facts and Keys

Authors

¹ Chairman of the Special Committee Healthcare Reform in Khorasan Razavi, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

² Faculty Member, Department of Community Health and Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

³ Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

⁴ Students Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22038/ijp.2015.6238

Abstract

Consuming a healthy diet throughout the lifecourse helps prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and conditions. But the increased production of processed food, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars or salt/sodium, and many do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre such as whole grains. In the first 2 years of a child’s life, optimal nutrition fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development. It also reduces the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life. Nutrition for kids is based on the same principles as nutrition for adults. Everyone needs the same types of nutrients; such as vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Children, however, need different amounts of specific nutrients at different ages

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