Alison Crane
Garland County Extension Service
American diets typically have 60% of the daily caloric intake coming from ultra-processed foods (UPFs). For American children, the percentage is actually closer to 70%. These foods, also called highly processed foods, are linked to health issues, including heart disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Any of these poor health outcomes can result in lower life expectancy and can impact our children's futures.
For working moms, it is stressful enough trying to feed kids while also having to provide transportation to school and practices, help with homework, make sure hygiene happens and try to just be with them in the few "home" hours available each day. Parents can be overwhelmed with guilt feeling like they are not doing enough to help their children be healthy. Having reasonable goals can help when it comes to providing good nutrition.
A good starting goal is to apply the 80/20 rule when feeding children. Make sure 80% of what they eat on a regular basis includes whole foods, like vegetables and fruit, eggs, fish and meat. That leaves only 20% to be filled with less nutritious foods, like French fries, chips, cookies, etc. Using this approach can provide leeway for those crazy busy days or fun days when you might indulge but also prioritizes the foods that will provide more balanced nutrition.
Perhaps it is time to make some changes to the way your family eats. First, do not try to make any changes overnight. Longer lasting results usually happen by making one good choice at a time. For many families, mealtime is already a battle and suddenly trying to turn over a new leaf and only eat healthy foods will not precipitate a fight, it might turn into an all-out war.
The Garland County Cooperative Extension Service has many programs and resources to help parents learn how to provide healthy, low-cost options for meal planning. Contact us to learn more at 501-623-6841 or email [email protected]. Try these tips for starters:
Avoid shopping in the center aisles at the grocery store. Those aisles have the majority of the UPF items.
Slowly replace UPFs with healthier more natural options instead of throwing all of your less healthy purchases out all at once.
Read food labels and choose foods with fewer ingredients.
Try substitutes like these:
Marinara sauce instead of ketchup
Make your own dressings instead of store-bought salad dressings and dips
Serve chicken strips instead of chicken nuggets
Flavor yogurt yourself instead of purchasing pre-flavored yogurts
Provide actual fruit instead of fruit-flavored snacks.
Involve your kids in the process. Educate them and let them prepare and try different foods then listen to their opinions and preferences.
With Halloween and all of its sugary treats just around the corner, engage your kids in ways to make it a healthier holiday with less focus on candy and more focus on fun.
Ultra-processed foods are far from the original food in both appearance and flavor. They most likely have many added ingredients and are generally high in sugar, fat or salt. Their high calories and low nutritional value make them a poor option for good health, but they are often the most convenient or cost less than less processed foods.