Een
relatie tussen moeder/baby/peutervoeding en overgewicht later.*
Doordat
meer en meer kinderen tegenwoordig al overgewicht hebben zijn wetenschappers van
de universiteit van Michigan op zoek gegaan naar de onderliggende oorzaken.
Jarenlang onderzoek heeft al aangetoond dat borstvoeding baby’s beschermt
tegen overgewicht later in het leven. De voeding van de moeder is ook al
belangrijk gebleken omdat daardoor al bepaalde smaakstoffen doorgegeven worden
met de moedermelk waardoor baby’s al wennen aan bepaalde voeding. Ook de
voeding tijdens de zwangerschap bepaalt al of baby’s later bepaalde voeding
lekker vinden of niet. Bijv. wortels(sap) tijdens de zwangerschap geeft baby’s
die vaak zonder problemen bij hun eerste vaste voedsel gepureerde wortels eten.
Heel belangrijk blijkt te zijn baby’s die beginnen met het wennen aan vast
voedsel liefst zoveel mogelijk verse groenten en fruit te geven en zeker geen
zoet voedsel. Belangrijk is een voedingspatroon voor de peuter vast te houden
tot de leeftijd van zeker 5 jaar want tussen het derde en vijfde levensjaar
blijken de voorkeuren voor bepaalde voeding gevormd te worden.
What you feed your baby, toddler now may impact their
waistline later
U-M
expert explains the relationship between early-life feeding practices and
obesity
Pureed green beans, mashed sweet potatoes
and corn, apples blended with chicken, and rice cereal.
While it’s not exactly five-star dining,
feeding your baby and toddler foods like these that are made with real fruits
and vegetables, and loaded with vitamins and nutrients, could be the key to
controlling their waistline as they grow through childhood and into adulthood,
says Julie Lumeng, M.D., a developmental and behavioral ,“There is a
tremendous problem today with childhood obesity in the United States, one that
medical researchers and physicians are trying to address head-on by identifying
the factors that are contributing to this epidemic,” says Lumeng. “One area
of focus has been the possible connection between early feeding practices and a
child’s risk for overweight or obesity. Certain aspects of the way children
are fed and what they eat very early in life may be related to their later risk
for obesity.”
Already, years of research has shown that
breastfeeding does protect against obesity risk later in life. With that in mind,
Lumeng encourages new moms to make their best effort at breastfeeding, and to
seek help from their pediatrician or a lactation consultant if they experience
any difficulty.
When it comes to solid foods, though, there
is still some debate over the relationship between the age at which solid foods
are first introduced and later obesity risk.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
recommends that parents begin to introduce their child to solid food no sooner
than four to six months of age.
“Solid foods are great for a child to
experience developmentally – learning how to swallow food from a spoon and
tasting the flavor – but parents need to keep in mind that, for infants,
breast milk still provides the best source of nutrients at a young age,” says
Lumeng.
When your child is old enough for solid
foods, Lumeng recommends starting with rice cereal, which is a great source of
iron. After introducing rice cereal into their diet, it’s then time to move on
to vegetables like pureed green beans or carrots.
“It’s really important for your child’s
first flavor experience to be something that’s healthy,” notes Lumeng.
“And the more a child tastes a particular food, the greater liking they’ll
develop for it.”
For that very reason, Lumeng says it
extremely important to keep sweets out of your child’s diet when they’re
first learning to eat.
“Pudding or ice cream should not be the
first foods your child experiences,” Lumeng cautions. “The more kids eat
sweets and sugar, the greater liking they’ll develop for them and the more
they’ll want to consume them. Plus, there is some evidence that suggests that
the type of food children eat early in life could contribute to their risk for
obesity. ”
So how do you get your child to eat – and
enjoy – foods like pureed squash, carrots and sweet potatoes that will provide
them with the best source of nutrient for their growing bodies? It may be as
simple as eating healthy while you’re pregnant.
According to Lumeng, research has shown
that women who drink carrot juice through pregnancy have infants who will enjoy
pureed carrots more at four months of age than those children whose mothers did
not drink carrot juice during pregnancy.
Nursing moms should be vigilant about the
foods they eat, too. “Any woman who’s eaten certain foods and then smelled
the breast milk knows that those flavors are passed on to the infant. So eating
vegetables while nursing should increase your infant’s acceptance of
vegetables once they’re ready for solid food,” says Lumeng.
And if your child still won’t eat his
vegetables, don’t give up hope. Most infants will need to be exposed to
certain food 10 to 15 times before they will begin to accept it and like it.
Lessons in healthy eating shouldn’t stop
there. It’s important to continue to teach your children healthy eating habits,
especially between the ages of 3 and 5 when experts believe they begin to
develop their food preferences, and ability to respond to hunger and satiety.
“Parents play a key role in helping their
children to recognize when they’re full,” says Lumeng. “Let them know that
when they’re done eating, it means they’re full. It’s important to use the
cues that you’ve picked up on as a parent and give them a word for it. It also
will help children understand when they’re actually hungry and when they’re
just feeling, bored, tired or frustrated.”
During this critical developmental stage, Lumeng also recommends that
parents encourage their child to eat a wide variety of food. Allowing them to
sample a range of healthy foods may translate into a healthier diet as they age,
potentially lowering their risk for obesity.
(Sept. 2006)