Transcript Document

NS325
Nutrition Across the Life Cycle
Unit 4 Seminar
NANCY R. MEARS, MS, CHES, PAPHS
Case Study #2
Tony is an 11-year-old male whose favorite activity is his
Playstation system. He loves to come home from school and
start playing right away. He will usually grab a large bag
potato chips and a soda from the fridge and snack while he
plays. He will take a break for dinner, but then he heads right
back to the game. Tony has always plotted around the 50th
percentile for weight and height for age, but lately he has been
gaining weight and is now greater than the 95th percentile for
weight. His father is not concerned, reporting that he was the
same way at his age but “thinned out” as he got older.
Case Study #2
Should Tony’s weight gain be a concern, despite his family
history?
What recommendations could be made to the family?
Develop a 2 day schedule and 2 days worth of menu’s to
reflect a better balance in Tony’s lifestyle.
This project must be minimum of one page, not including title and reference page
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location and with the proper naming convention: username-NS325-section-unit4
case study 2.doc (username is your Kaplan username, section is your course
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steps to submit.
Food Acceptance In Children
Food Development
 The transition from dependent to independent self
feeding occurs over the first two years of life;
 Shifts from a single to multiple food sources;
 There are increased opportunities for the self-
regulation of food intake;
 There are new social influences for eating with peers
and adult caretakers.
Preferences & Aversions
 Prefer to eat foods that are familiar.
 Born with preference for sweet taste.
 Adverse responses to sour and bitter tastes.
 Flavor, texture, color, temperature are all important
to a foods perceived palatability.
Shaping Food Acceptance Patterns
 Factors with greatest impact on shaping food
acceptance patterns:
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Opportunities for repeated exposure to new food
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Social context of meals
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Associative learning
Repeated Exposure
 Initial rejection of foods is normal, but parents believe
child is a “picky eater”.
 Increase the food’s familiarity to learn to accept new
foods.
 Offer new foods in positive, patient manner.
 Repeat foods: At least 8-10 times
Social Context
 By watching what others eat and don’t eat, children
learn which foods are acceptable or not acceptable.
 Routine mealtime experiences teach children which
food combinations their culture finds acceptable and
which are not.
 Learn which foods are eaten at which meals.
Associative Learning
 The pairing of something in the environment with
something else, resulting in a new response.

Example: Conditioned Aversion- eat something that makes
you sick
 Common feeding practices can create conditioned
dislikes for healthy foods.
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Example – the use of sweets as rewards to get kids to eat
veggies – actually increases the preference for the “reward”
food
Passing Down Eating Patterns
 How parents handle their own food intake has
profound impact on their children’s food acceptance,
preference and intake patterns.
 Adult’s food preferences influence not only types of
foods that children will consume, but the overall
quality of the diet.
 Appetite regulatory mechanism can be turned off by
parental practices that focus attention away from
internal satiety cues.
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Eating all food on plate; improper portion sizes
Parents Can Shape Healthy Eating
What strategies would you recommend
to parents to develop healthy eating
patterns in kids?
Practical Suggestions for Healthy Eating Patterns
 Offer repeated exposure to variety of healthy foods.
 Be patient; repeat foods at least 8-10 times.
 Start early - Make tasting new foods a pleasant routine.
 Adults need to be positive role models.
 Don’t use food as a rewards.
 Respect children’s ability to regulate their energy (food)
intake.
 Do not severely restrict children’s access to
sweets/desserts/unhealthier items - restriction may make
these “forbidden” foods even more attractive – make them
a treat outside of the home, not a staple in your household.
Mealtime with Toddlers
Mealtime with Toddlers
 As toddlers continue to advance their feeding skills, it is
crucial to provide a healthy feeding and eating
environment.
 Structure at meals can have a significant influence on a
child’s eating patterns.
 Avoid the philosophy of “clean plate club”
Mealtime with Toddlers
 Introduce one food at a time in order to avoid confusion
or overwhelming the child.
 At least 10 exposures to each new food is recommended
 Develop positive healthy relationship with all foods.
 Offer a variety of healthy foods
Promoting Vegetable & Fruit Intake
 Add fruit purees to mixes (pancakes, waffles,
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muffins);
Add fruit purees to yogurt and puddings;
Add dried fruits to cereal and trail mixes;
Mix vegetable purees in soups and sauces;
Take the child to the grocery store to select new
fruits and vegetables to try!
Choking Prevention
 Some children may not develop the skill of chewing
with a grinding motion until 4 years of age
 Cut food into small pieces
 Child needs to remain seated when eating
 Encourage child to take small bites and avoid
overfilling their mouth
Foods to Avoid to Prevent Choking
 Hot dog slices
 Carrot rings
 Whole grapes
 Nuts
 Popcorn
 Hard candies
 Large beans
Questions??
Common Food Issues
Picky Eating
 Can be common in toddlers, and may continue
throughout childhood
 May be their attempt at independence
 Avoid punishment or rewards for eating food
 Avoid making “special meals” for the picky eater
Common Food Issues
Grazing
 Growing children may not want to stop what they
are doing for a meal and can end up grazing;
 May produce a constant feeling of fullness and
cause the child to never eat an appropriate
amount at meal, therefore not expanding the
stomach size;
 If a child asks for food or liquids more frequently
than 2 to 3 hours, encourage them to wait until
the next meal or snack time.
Health Issues
Failure to Thrive
 Inadequate physical growth diagnosed by
observation of growth over time using a standard
growth chart.
 Factors
inability to meet calorie needs due to medical
conditions
 Malabsorption
 increased metabolism with specific disease states
 food shortage
 incorrect mixing of formula
 neglect

Health Issues
Lactose Intolerance
 The inability or insufficient ability to digest lactose, a
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sugar found in milk and milk products
Uncommon in healthy infants
Symptoms: stomach pain, flatulence, and loose stools
Many are able to tolerate small amounts
Solid cheese and yogurt are better tolerated
Many lactose-free and low-lactose products available
Health Issues
Excessive Weight Gain
 10% children 2-5 years old are obese
 20% children 6 – 11 years old are obese
 Not just one factor, but a combination of physical
inactivity, exaggerated portion sizes, sugarsweetened beverages, lack of fruits and vegetables,
and too much screen time
 What can be done??
Questions?
Role of Parents in Promoting Healthy
Nutrition in Early Childhood
Eating is a learned behavior of flavor and food
preferences.
Parents are a child’s first teachers
 Positive Role Modeling – children develop
preferences for the foods they see others eating
 Self Regulation – the ability to regulate volume of
food intake is believed to be a normal human
inborn error
Talking Points
Establish a Regular Feeding Routine – When and
where does your child eat?
 Your child should have a regular feeding routine
including a consistent time and location
 Television should be off during meals
Talking Points
Dietary Variety – What kinds of foods does your child
like to eat?
 Offer soft veggies, fruits, meats, pasta, etc… so your
child can practice picking up and chewing
 Limit juice to only 4 ounces per day of 100% – fruit
is a healthier option than juice because
of the fiber and high sugar content
in juice
Talking Points
Create Pleasant Mealtimes – Does your child enjoy
mealtimes?
 Mealtime should be a pleasant and a positive eating
experience for the child and the parent/caregiver
Talking Points
Competing Foods – Does your child receive fatty or
sweetened foods and drinks?
 If a young child is offered foods such as french fries,
chips, donuts, desserts, and soft drinks, they will
learn to like and expect these foods instead of
healthier foods – remember the number of
exposures!
References
Edelstein, S. & Sharlin, J. (2009). Life Cycle
Nutrition: An Evidence Based Approach.
Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Questions?