Build a Healthy Lunchbox

It’s every parents' struggle: how do you pack a lunch box with foods that are healthy yet still appealing to your kids? With a few simple tips, you can win the lunch struggle and make school lunch a happy and healthy part of your child’s day.

• Include your child in preparing their lunch. Give them the opportunity to choose which healthy options they would prefer. They will be more likely to eat all of their lunch instead of throwing it away if they have a choice in their meal selections.
• Add a fun treat to their lunch. Healthy options include fruit cut into fun shapes or a homemade trail mix.
• Add color and variety to their lunch. No one wants to eat the same foods every day. Add small portions of colorful fruits and veggies and make sure to mix it up and choose a different fruit and/or veggie each day.
• Don’t overwhelm your child. A typical school lunch only lasts 20 minutes. Pack them enough food so they can realistically eat during the time period and do not throw their lunch away. Focus on filling their lunch box with foods that are quick and easy to eat.

Bottom Line: A nutritious lunch is important to help your child focus and get through their school day. Finding a happy balance between a lunch that is nutritious and delicious is a win/win for both you and your child! Looking for some lunch box inspiration? Check out these recipes. 

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Improve Children’s Behavior with Omega-3

Research points to the significance of dietary omega-3 intake and brain development, but new evidence shows that omega-3’s may also help improve behavior issues in children. A study published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that a balanced diet and supplemental omega-3 intake is linked to improved behavior in children.

The study was conducted using a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial -- the gold standard in research. Two hundred children between the ages of 8 and 16 were randomly divided between two groups, a treatment group and a placebo group. The treatment group drank a daily fruit drink with 1g of omega-3 and the control group drank a daily fruit drink without omega-3 for six months. Participants and their caregivers were asked to report behavior problems at the beginning of the study, after six months of drinking the fruit juice and then six months after they stopped drinking the fruit juice.

Results showed that omega-3 supplementation decreased behavior problems in children while taking supplementation. Participants and caregivers also reported that behavior improvement continued in the six months after stopping the omega-3 drink.

Bottom line: New research provides “initial evidence” that omega-3 supplementation may help resolve behavioral problems in children; further research is needed to confirm findings. omega-3’s are found in food sources such as fish, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil and walnuts. 

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The Magic of Healthy Eating at Disney

Is the happiest place on earth also becoming the healthiest place on earth? That may be a bit of a reach, but the Walt Disney Company has been improving the nutritional quality of meals offered at their park restaurants. In a new study, researchers examined the impact and acceptability of these healthy changes among diners.

Before these healthy changes took place at the Disney parks, the default side for kid’s meals was French fries and the default beverage was soda. In 2006, the Walt Disney Company swapped out the French fries and soda and offered new defaults of fruit and vegetables and low-fat milk or water. Customers are still able to order French fries and soda if they choose to 'opt-out’ of the healthy defaults.

Disney recently provided the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center with data on the sales of kid’s meals for the years 2010-2012. The results indicated that customers are embracing the healthy changes. Across all 145 restaurants located at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, 48 percent of guests accepted the healthy default sides and 66 percent of guests accepted the healthy default beverages. The healthy defaults significantly improved the nutritional quality of the meals, reducing calories by 21 percent, fat by 44 percent and sodium by 43 percent. Furthermore, Disney reported the healthy changes did not impact meal cost for customers.

Bottom Line: The Walt Disney Company demonstrated that small changes can significantly improve the nutritional quality of a meal without increasing the cost or restricting choice. Many restaurants have also responded to consumers’ demands for more transparency of nutrition information by displaying calorie counts on their menus or highlighting ‘heart healthy’ options. The ‘opt-out’ approach adopted by the Walt Disney Company is another great way to make eating healthy easier for consumers. 

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Longer Lunch Periods May Lead to Healthier Kids

Should kids in school be given more time to eat lunch? When given a few extra minutes, they might make healthier choices. A recent study published by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics showed that food selection and the amount of food consumed are related to the amount of time students are given to eat.

The study measured the food selections and plate waste of 1,001 students in grades three through eight. The students were spread across six elementary schools located in an urban, low-income school district in Massachusetts.

The six participating schools had set lunch periods of 20, 25 and 30 minutes. Students were able to pick three out of five offered food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, milk and protein. When researchers looked at the selection of foods, 57 percent of students chose a fruit when given at least 25 minutes to eat, while only 44 percent of students with less than 20 minutes to eat chose a fruit (timing started when students left the lunch line and stopped at the end of the lunch period).

Although there was no significant relationship between the amount of time and the selection of the entree, vegetable and milk components, results showed that more of these options were consumed when children were given more time to eat. Using plate-waste methodology researchers found that when students had less than 20 minutes for lunch (meaning they were at the end of the lunch line or arrived late for other reasons) they consumed, on average, 13 percent less of their entrees, 12 percent less of their vegetable and 10 percent less of their milk compared with students who had at least 25 minutes to eat.

Bottom Line: The quality of school lunches has been a recent topic for policy makers, but there are currently no national standards for the length of school lunch periods. These findings show that when students aren’t given enough time to eat, their choices and intake are affected. If schools provide at least 30 minutes for a lunch period, students will have the time they need to travel to the cafeteria, wait in line, and eat their lunch, leading to less plate waste and improved dietary intake. 

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Eating Breakfast Improves Academic Performance

You have probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Research has shown that eating breakfast can improve cognitive skills and memory, stabilize blood sugar and promote a healthy weight. A recent study demonstrated significant academic benefits in children who ate breakfast compared to those who skipped a morning meal.

Researchers surveyed 5,000 students ages 9 -11 years old on what foods and drinks they consumed in the past 24 hours. The participants were asked to note what they had eaten at specific times throughout the previous day and for breakfast on the day of reporting. The researchers sought to examine the link between breakfast consumption and educational performance.

Results showed that the children who ate breakfast, and a better quality breakfast, achieved higher academic outcomes. The odds of achieving an above average educational performance were twice as high for children who consumed a healthy breakfast compared to those who did not. Consuming high sugar breakfast items did not have a positive impact on academic performance.  

Bottom Line: Eating breakfast has many proven health benefits and recent research supports that consuming breakfast can improve academic performance in children. Short on time in the morning? A healthy breakfast does not have to be time consuming. Try on-the-go healthy options such as yogurt topped with high fiber cereal and fruit, peanut butter on a whole wheat English muffin or whole wheat toast served with hard boiled eggs and fruit.

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Cutting Sugar Quickly Improves Children's Health

Childhood obesity is on the rise, and it is well known that this condition can lead to major health problems in adulthood. A recent study investigated the role of added sugar in childhood obesity and addressed whether sugar is harming health or whether the weight gain associated with added sugar is contributing to illness over time.

The study, published in the journal Obesity, included 43 obese children between the ages of 9 and 18. The participants had one or more symptoms of metabolic syndrome and were considered at high risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes. On average, the subjects had been getting about 27 percent of their daily calories from sugar.

            

The participants were partnered with dietitians who replaced all high sugar foods in their diet with other types of carbohydrates with no added sugar. The goal was to replace the sugary foods in their diet without lowering body weight or calorie intake. Due to budget constraints, the study only lasted nine days. However, significant health improvements were demonstrated in this short time. The participants had a 10-point decrease in their LDL cholesterol, a 5-point drop in diastolic blood pressure, and a 33-point drop in triglycerides. Their fasting blood sugar and insulin levels also improved.

            

Bottom Line: Making small changes to reduce children’s sugar intake may have a significant metabolic impact in a short amount of time, independent of changes to weight. In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a new nutrition label that would list the amount of added sugars in a product. This change would help parents limit the amount of added sugars in their children’s diets. 

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A Healthy Heart Begins in Childhood

High levels of blood pressure early in life track into adulthood and are associated with chronic disease. Diet behaviors are established during childhood, and more than 90 percent of children ages 4 to 18, already exceed recommended sodium intake limits. We know that sodium reduction can help keep blood pressure in check, but do we need to worry about sodium consumption even in children?

Elevated blood pressure rarely results in adverse clinical events in children. Despite this, increased blood pressure during childhood has been linked with the beginnings of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD), obesity, diabetes, atherosclerotic heart disease and stroke. Increased childhood blood pressure levels tend to trend toward even higher blood pressure in adulthood, raising the risk of blood pressure related CVD as these children become adults. 

A meta-analysis of thirteen studies showed that lower sodium consumption in children was associated with lower blood pressure. Since the early effects of increased blood pressure begin in childhood and taste preferences develop early, it is important to get children on the right track by keeping sodium levels down. It may be easier than it sounds, too. In one study, after just three weeks of eating lower sodium foods, children’s taste preferences changed enough so that they no longer preferred the higher sodium option. 

The Bottom Line: Reducing processed foods, supporting mandates for school lunch improvements, and encouraging fruit and vegetable consumption are all ways to help put children on the path to a healthier heart in the future. While ditching the salt shaker at the table is a great start, think beyond the salt shaker and take a look in your pantry for high-sodium culprits. Packaged food products are often filled with sodium to extend shelf life; encourage a diet rich in whole foods for a healthier heart. 

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End the Food Fight

Could your weight be causing a food fight at the table? New research published by the American Pediatric Association looked at the association between parent and adolescent weight status and parent feeding practices, such as engaging in food pressure or food restriction.

The researchers analyzed results from two 2010 studies of kids' food consumption. More than 2,100 teens, whose average age was 14, took part in the studies along with 3,252 parents. The study found that when both parents and adolescents were at a normal weight, parents were more likely to pressure their adolescents to eat more. When parents and kids were overweight or obese, parents were more likely to restrict food.

Research shows that both of these feeding practices, eating pressure and food restriction, may lead a child to become overweight or obese, or engage in unhealthy eating behaviors such as bingeing, purging or restricting.

Bottom Line: Experts recommend that parents provide their children a variety of healthy food options and allow them to decide the amount that they eat. Parents can lead by example to encourage their children to engage in healthy eating behaviors and physical activity.

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