March as National Nutrition Month is being used to raise awareness about healthier eating. In our KERA Health Checkup,Sam Baker talked with Meridan Zerner, a registered dietitian with Cooper Aerobics, about nutrition and children. She said many kids dont always get the nutrients they need despite their parents efforts.

Meridan Zerner: Keep in mind that a lot of us really didnt have a great education in solid nutrition when we were young, and certainly we have to take into account the economy. They may not have what they perceive to be a budget for a healthier diet. Theres an idea that healthy food has to be incredibly expensive, which is not necessarily the case. When parents are working that much longer, and it is what it is, you have to rely on these outside sources to fuel your children. And so theyre getting their lunch, perhaps even their breakfast, from school. So we need to look for a better quality meal there.

Sam Baker: Its not easier, though, with all the processed food targeted at children.

Zerner: No. And more and more theyre giving schools and other programs discounts on processed food which makes it more appealing budget-wise. But the big picture is being lost. These kids are not healthy, with one in three being overweight or obese. Theyre unhappy, there are higher levels of depression in children who are that unhealthy. Theyre bullied. It goes on. The benefits of taking the time to make a few healthier choices, to support that, both at home and in the school, is incredibly worthwhile.

Baker: So what nutrients should children be getting, and does that depend on the age?

Zerner: It does depend on the age but as a concept we like to look at the plate model, so the government has a new plate model, which is wonderful. Its something you can start to teach your children now. Half of the plateis color. Youre looking to fill half the plate with some fruit or vegetable. Now thats a concept, that lunch has some color in it. I think we do a better job at dinner ensuring that theres a vegetable for children. To make sure that the human body needs that, for vitamins, for minerals, as an anti-inflammatory. You need it. Health starts quite young. Ive seen six and seven year-olds on cholesterol medication and thats obviously quite concerning to me.

Baker: Six or seven?

Zerner: Six or seven year-olds with Type 2 diabetes, which is the kind of diabetes we used to call adult onset diabetes that comes from weight and diet and lack of exercise. Were seeing this in young, young children.

Baker: When I was young the emphasis always seemed to be on Vitamin C, for starters; calcium. Are kids even getting enough of that these days?

Zerner: No they really arent. If you compare the 1950s to now, as an example, kids then would have three cupsof milk to one glass of soda. Now its absolutely the reverse. Children today are having three cups of soda to one glass of milk. And its not necessarily about the milk, but its how are we going to get in calcium for their bones, along with vitamin D, which were finding is integral in cancer prevention, in allergies and asthma, in attention deficit there are many things where Vitamin D can be meaningful. And its hard to get.

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Nutrition & Children