Early Childhood Education in Nutrition
Today's Globe and Mail features an interesting article that debunks the myth that children will outgrow their childhood chubbiness. And while the study that is referenced in the article is important for the data the researchers were able to collect, what the article doesn't really address is the cause-effect of childhood obesity and subsequent behavioural issues that develop with the child into adulthood.
Towards the end of the article, there is a brief mention about educating kids in schools about nutrition. However, I'm a firm believer that a child's attitudes toward food are more likely learned from their parents and family rather than in school. In school, kids can learn what is healthy and what is not. But the reality is that most kids don't cook for themselves and perhaps have little say in what is served at the dinner table, and so educating children about nutrition and instilling good attitudes towards food really needs to start with the parents.
Margaret Cho, a riotously funny Asian comedienne, writes about her body image issues and her unhealthy relationship with food in her book I'm the One I Want. In the book, she tells of her mother's use of food as a way to deal with depression and other troubles. Often, her mom would ask Margaret to join her in her binge eating, wanting companionship as she soothed her pains. Ultimately, Margaret struggled with her weight throughout her life as she emulated her mother in using food to comfort herself as she went through the trials and tribulations of adulthood and career success.
In my own experience, my parents' pragmatism taught me to never waste food. I often grew up hearing "the starving children in Ethiopia would be thankful to have as much food to eat as you." My smart-aleck response, which always got me a very stern scolding from my parents, was "so how fast can Fed-Ex deliver to Ethiopia?" The result is that to this day, even if I'm full, I feel guilty about leaving food on my plate. I have to make a very concerted effort to not continue eating beyond the point of being comfortably full. In restaurants where I know portion sizes are large, I will ask the server to pack away half of my meal before the plate reaches the table. Otherwise, I have to continually remind myself that I can stop eating and not feel guilty since the food is not going to waste because I will eat the leftovers the next day as my lunch.
Mr. Pepper has similar food issues due to the way his family operated. Mr. Pepper's mom has no sense of portion size. She will fill every pot and plate to the rim and expect you to eat every last morsel. To her, the proper serving size of pasta is not the size of a baseball. Rather, it looks much more like football. Seriously. So to this day, Mr. Pepper has similar problems judging portion sizes and often makes, serves, and subsequently eats way more than what is appropriate. He has to continually convince himself that although the servings of food we're eating look small, he will be satiated in the end.
And these learned behaviours are not limited to the influence of parents, but also extended family. As I watch Mr. Pepper's mom dote over her grandkids, I worry that my niece and nephew will overhear and question their body image. As with all grandmothers, the senior Mrs. Pepper laments that her grandchildren don't eat enough food with enough frequency, and therefore look too skinny. I think my niece and nephew look healthy - they are tall, lean, and strong. Nothing to worry about in my mind. But she will not be dissuaded... I just hope that my niece and nephew don't take her comments with too much seriousness.
I'm sure many of you can relate to the above stories. And for all you parents out there, your kids are more impressionable than you know. The only way to ensure that your children will have a healthy body image and healthy attitudes towards food is to ensure that you enforce a healthy lifestyle for all members of your family, yourself included.
Towards the end of the article, there is a brief mention about educating kids in schools about nutrition. However, I'm a firm believer that a child's attitudes toward food are more likely learned from their parents and family rather than in school. In school, kids can learn what is healthy and what is not. But the reality is that most kids don't cook for themselves and perhaps have little say in what is served at the dinner table, and so educating children about nutrition and instilling good attitudes towards food really needs to start with the parents.
Margaret Cho, a riotously funny Asian comedienne, writes about her body image issues and her unhealthy relationship with food in her book I'm the One I Want. In the book, she tells of her mother's use of food as a way to deal with depression and other troubles. Often, her mom would ask Margaret to join her in her binge eating, wanting companionship as she soothed her pains. Ultimately, Margaret struggled with her weight throughout her life as she emulated her mother in using food to comfort herself as she went through the trials and tribulations of adulthood and career success.
In my own experience, my parents' pragmatism taught me to never waste food. I often grew up hearing "the starving children in Ethiopia would be thankful to have as much food to eat as you." My smart-aleck response, which always got me a very stern scolding from my parents, was "so how fast can Fed-Ex deliver to Ethiopia?" The result is that to this day, even if I'm full, I feel guilty about leaving food on my plate. I have to make a very concerted effort to not continue eating beyond the point of being comfortably full. In restaurants where I know portion sizes are large, I will ask the server to pack away half of my meal before the plate reaches the table. Otherwise, I have to continually remind myself that I can stop eating and not feel guilty since the food is not going to waste because I will eat the leftovers the next day as my lunch.
Mr. Pepper has similar food issues due to the way his family operated. Mr. Pepper's mom has no sense of portion size. She will fill every pot and plate to the rim and expect you to eat every last morsel. To her, the proper serving size of pasta is not the size of a baseball. Rather, it looks much more like football. Seriously. So to this day, Mr. Pepper has similar problems judging portion sizes and often makes, serves, and subsequently eats way more than what is appropriate. He has to continually convince himself that although the servings of food we're eating look small, he will be satiated in the end.
And these learned behaviours are not limited to the influence of parents, but also extended family. As I watch Mr. Pepper's mom dote over her grandkids, I worry that my niece and nephew will overhear and question their body image. As with all grandmothers, the senior Mrs. Pepper laments that her grandchildren don't eat enough food with enough frequency, and therefore look too skinny. I think my niece and nephew look healthy - they are tall, lean, and strong. Nothing to worry about in my mind. But she will not be dissuaded... I just hope that my niece and nephew don't take her comments with too much seriousness.
I'm sure many of you can relate to the above stories. And for all you parents out there, your kids are more impressionable than you know. The only way to ensure that your children will have a healthy body image and healthy attitudes towards food is to ensure that you enforce a healthy lifestyle for all members of your family, yourself included.
posted by Sergeant Pepper at
12:48 PM
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