Food Restriction is Not the Solution

A recent study showed that parents of overweight/obese kids were more likely to restrict food while parents of normal weight kids were more likely to be in the “clean plate club.” While I personally don’t agree with either, this is a very useful insight – while the parents of heavy children have good intentions, there is a chance that these actions are actually hurting their child more. As this summary article states, the best solution is to make healthy foods available and empower children to make good choices. Kids spend A LOT of time outside of the home. If food is outwardly restricted at home, they are more likely to eat whatever they want outside of the home.

Interested in learning more about good nutrition parenting skills? Read Ellyn Satter’s Child of Mine book; hands down one of the best child nutrition books around.