New Dietary Guidelines for Children from the American Heart Association

With childhood obesity increasing and signs of heart disease starting to appear before adulthood, AHA has released a new statement on appropriate nutrition for kids, beginning in infancy! According to Dr. Samuel Gidding, professor of pediatric cardiology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, "Foods given to babies today are less nutritious than 10 or 20 years ago… By 19 months of age, on any given day, one-third of toddlers eat no fruit, and french fries are the most commonly consumed vegetable. We're concerned that poor diets have begun to seem normal - if someone else's baby is eating french fries, why can't mine? We want to point out that these practices are providing poor nutrition and causing kids to be overweight at their 2-year-old checkups."

Specific guidelines for infants are:

• Breastfeed exclusively for the first four to six months of life, and continue breastfeeding through the first year
• As solid foods are introduced:
  • Don't over-feed infants
  • Introduce healthy foods repeatedly (even if they're initially refused)
  • Don't feed foods that have calories without other nutritional benefits
  • Delay offering juice until at least six months and then limit the quantity to no more than 4-6 ounces a day
• A one-year-old child needs two cups of milk a day, along with 1.5 ounces of lean meat or beans, 1 cup of fruit, 3/4 cup of vegetables, and two ounces of grains

For children age 2 and older:

• Balance dietary calories with physical activity to maintain normal growth;
• 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily
• Eat vegetables and fruits daily, limit juice intake
• Use vegetables oils and soft margarines low in saturated fat and trans fatty acids instead of butter or most other animal fats in the diet
• Eat whole grain breads and cereals rather than refined grain products
• Reduce the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and foods
• Use nonfat (skim) or low-fat milk and dairy products daily
• Eat more fish, especially oily fish, broiled or baked
• Reduce salt intake, including salt from processed food

For more information, visit American Heart Association web site.

Also see these other H4H resources:
Nutrition 4 Life
Fitness 4 Life

Source: Kids need to get a jump start on heart healthy eating - American Heart Association