National Nutrition Week 2022: Why parents need to pay attention to their child’s health

As Mumbaikars get busy juggling work and school, the period when seasons are changing can often be challenging. It can especially be a difficult time for parents as they navigate their lives while juggling sick children, hybrid working mode, or simply rushing to office.

Every year, India celebrates National Nutrition Week between September 1 - September 7 to promote a healthy lifestyle by consuming a balanced diet including all the necessary nutrients required to stay fit. While adults can manage their diets later in life, city experts say the foundation for healthy nutrition starts during childhood, and that in turn will prevent onset of lifestyle disease later in life. It is therefore important for parents to pay attention to their child's diet in their growing years to avoid issues later

More specifically, children are affected during changes in season, one that is soon to commence. City experts say parents need to take care of their child's immunity especially because of illnesses such as malaria, dengue, gastroenteritis, food poisoning and flu, during the monsoon season. The fact that the city has experienced humidity in the last few days due to sudden climate change means that parents need to take more care. A focus on their child's diet to boost good health is a must, because it plays a vital role in producing antibodies and maintaining immune functions necessary right now.

Mid-day Online spoke to Dr Jinal Patel, dietitian, Apollo Spectra Hospital, and Sweedal Trinidade, HOD Dietary Services, PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC to understand why parents should pay attention to their child's diet this time of the year. They also stress on the need for parents to make their children eat home-cooked and healthy food while strictly avoiding junk food. Patel and Trinidade also share common misconceptions about a child's diet, and why parents should inculcate healthy eating habits early.

Many children fall sick when the seasons change. Can parents avoid this by adopting certain eating habits?

Patel: It is the need of the hour for parents to inculcate healthy eating habits in children. Make sure that the child eats home-cooked food instead of roadside food. Try to include fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, pulses, and nuts in the child's daily menu. The child should stay away from junk, spicy, oily, canned, and processed foods that can lower immunity.

Trinidade: Many children are not able to cope with seasonal changes and very often fall sick. Our immune cells are like soldiers fighting against all the environmental triggers that evoke immune response, dip in immunity can hamper this process. Children need to be counselled to eat immunity boosting foods and strengthen that army of soldiers to fight against all diseases/environmental factors triggering the immune response. It is the duty of parents to educate children about the benefits of eating seasonal fruits and vegetables rather than just giving importance to tastes and dislikes. Antioxidant rich diet along with good proteins enhance immunity, prevent stunted growth, reduce reliance on artificial supplements. Sugars and preservatives are major reasons for increased inflammation, allergies and dip in immunity.

As the season changes from monsoon to winter, what are the fruits and vegetables that parents can give children to maintain their immunity?

Patel: Give your children leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, Kiwi, papaya, red bell peppers, oranges, lemons, lime, strawberries, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon, mushrooms, pumpkins, pears, and blueberries.

Trinidade: Mother earth gives us the best of the fruits and vegetables each season for our nourishment. Stress, pollution, and processed foods makes our immunity sluggish and many children fall prey to cough, cold or infections. To aid in the smooth adaptation process it is important to consume a rainbow of fruits, nuts and vegetables.

Citrus fruits: Rich source of vitamin C, soluble fibre and electrolytes.

Green leafy: Excellent source of vitamin A, C, K folate, fibre, magnesium that fight the attack of free radicals, helps in collagen synthesis, delays ageing process, strengthen immunity.

Milk and milk products: When incorporated in the right recipes at the right time they nourish you with calcium, proteins, vitamin D and B12 that strengthen your bones, muscles and prevent joint pain.

Nuts and seeds: Winter also calls for the festive season, so desserts based with nuts and seeds is a great option over sugary desserts. It is a great combination of omega 3 and proteins.

Growing up, many children don't like different fruits and vegetables. Are there any fruits and vegetables that are high in nutrition and palatable?

Patel: Green leafy vegetables such as celery, spring onion, asparagus, fenugreek, and dill leaves can be added to various dishes to make them nutritious. Try to introduce your children to fruits such as kiwi, pineapple, dragon fruit, muskmelon, or pomegranates. You can also make a healthy smoothie out of fruits and vegetables.

Trinidade: Yes, growing up many children don't like different fruits and vegetables, that doesn't mean parents glorify these habits and give whatever the children want. Unless and until the child does have an allergy to a particular food try giving it in different forms. Explain the benefits of foods and the repercussions that deficiency may have. Most importantly, every fruit and vegetable has its own benefits. There are no magical foods that give all nutrients in one serving. Encouraging a variety of natural foods right from a young age prevents one from tasting bitter medicines at later age.

The focus of National Nutrition Week is on a well-balanced diet. While adults focus a lot on it, how important is it for children to have a well-balanced meal growing up?

Patel: A well-balanced diet inclusive of all the vital nutrients can help the child with overall growth and development. Calcium and Vitamin D are needed for the growth and development of bones in children. Protein is needed for muscle growth. Eating healthy can help the child to maintain an optimum weight, and keep various allergies, infections, and diseases at bay. Fibre is essential for a healthy digestive system and lowers the risk of heart disease. Eat potassium-rich foods to maintain blood pressure in the recommended range.

Trinidade: National Nutrition Month focuses on eradicating malnutrition. Children who grow up are prone to malnutrition and eventually stunted growth. Healthy does not mean a high figure on the scale. It is often seen that children are fed an excess amount of ghee, sugar, jaggery, processed foods like cheese, butter and bakery items. This may improve the weight but not nutritional status if not adequately supported by fruits, vegetables, cereal, pulses, milk and milk products to make diet wholesome.

When is the critical age group for children to build their immunity?

Patel: After one year, the child should be weaned and needs to be introduced to solid foods. Try to inculcate the habit of healthy eating by introducing fruits and vegetables into the diet. Avoid giving junk food to the child.

Trinidade: Strong tower stands on a strong foundation. Childhood laid on the foundation of healthy nutrition can prevent adult onset of lifestyle diseases.

Now that children are back in school two years after the pandemic, will parents have to pay special attention to their tiffin, due to season change and the possibility of overconsumption of junk?

Patel: It is a good idea if the parents give healthy snacking items in the tiffin. Try to give methi parathas or theplas, broccoli paratha, dosa, oats chilla, spinach balls, home-made banana muffins, carrot sticks, hummus, pita chips, fruits, cherries, apricots, blackberries, celery sticks, eggs, paneer sandwich, vegetable sandwich, poha or upma.

Trinidade: During pandemic with reduced access to processed foods many parents have done an excellent job of serving healthy nutritious home food. However, to carry on with this habit is important. Children are back to school and adults are back to office. Convenience matters at times but turning to junk food may be the greatest temptation, however, we do have healthy alternatives. Fruits, nuts, home cooked meals, if the child is well nourished and has access to healthy alternatives, then the junk food cravings may be reduced.

Many parents often don't feed their children particular food due to various biases. What are the common misconceptions that parents have about their child's nutrition?

Patel: Some parents feel that giving cucumber or curd to the child can induce a cold and they avoid doing so. But, these two things are essential for boosting the child's immunity. Some avoid leafy green vegetables thinking that the child may not like them but, you need to make the child eat them as they are loaded with iron. Children should be introduced to a variety of foods or else they can become picky eaters.

Trinidade: Children ape their parents. It is very important to have meals together, consume all seasonal fruits and vegetables. Imagine parents having dislikes in food or going on fad diets, isn't it natural for the child to pick this habit? There are a number of biases due to which many nutritious foods are not fed to children.

Hot food and cold food concept
Many people follow the hot food-cold food concept. For example, papaya, nuts and seeds, eggs, meat, ghee to name a few foods are considered hot foods, and are not adequately fed to children.

Citrus fruits cause cold, and milk and banana causes cough
There are many parents who feel that these foods cause cold and cough. However, children should have milk daily.

It's okay to have many sweets, eat junk/processed food and children should stay out of kitchen
None of those concerns are true. Instead involve your child in buying fresh fruits vegetables, cooking and helping. Be a role model and practice healthy diet and activity. After all parents are the first superheroes that a child looks up to, be the best one.

Also Read: Scared of gaining weight this festive season? Mumbai experts share how you can enjoy without worry

(Disclaimer: This article is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Mid-day Online does not in any way endorse the accuracy, completeness, efficacy or timeliness of any advice or line of treatment mentioned in this article. Readers must always seek the advice of a certified medical practitioner and/or a mental health professional before deciding on or starting any course of treatment.)