“In prevention programs aimed at combating obesity and overweight in children aged between 6 and 11, a fundamental tool appears to be education about a healthy dietbut to date, one of the means of mass communication such as television, unfortunately, turns out to be very harmful”. So to time.news Salute the immunologist Mauro Minelli, coordinator for Southern Italy of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine, and for the nutritional aspect the nutritionist biologist Dominga Maio, who intervene on the proposal of the World Health Organization (WHO) to protect children from marketing that promotes unhealthy foods and soft drinks.
“If fruit and vegetables were advertised during children’s programs as is done for snacks and savory snacks, their consumption would be encouraged – the experts suggest – since children, not yet having developed the tools necessary for a critical analysis, would see in the colors of the fruit and in the different and sometimes bizarre shapes of the vegetables new choice options could develop greater awareness of natural products“.
According to Minelli, “the decision to develop a series of nutritional criteria to determine whether food products are suitable for being marketed to children and adolescents is certainly an excellent system for excluding unhealthy foods from the market, certainly capable of altering the other the mechanisms of correct intestinal absorption of nutrients, but no less important is the role of the family that establishes dietary rules and is the reference point for children”. To adopt a healthy and sustainable diet, parents should achieve greater awareness of the impact that food choices can have on their children’s health and on the environment, aiming to increase the consumption of cereals wholemeal, fruit, vegetables, legumes, and oily fruit; limit the consumption of foods and drinks rich in sugars, saturated fats and/or salt; choose diversified and traditional foods, to support local biodiversity; rediscover local and seasonal foods, their nutritional values and cooking and preservation techniques.
Luckily, it is very easy to find alternatives to industrially produced snacks. “The use of healthy ingredients, perhaps even locally sourced, means that confectionery products are produced that are worthy substitutes for industrial snacks, with which to make the little ones happy without weighing on their well-being. Thanks to these solutions – observes Maio – it is in fact It is possible to more easily control the amount of sugar in the preparations, thus offering cakes or biscuits with less calories without altering their taste, without additives, preservatives and dyes harmful to their health, also avoiding the production of waste related to packaging. to make these products we could also get the little ones to help, thus stimulating their imagination and creativity”.
“For the adequate growth of children, it is also fundamental give the opportunity to get to know and taste fruit and vegetablesoffering them fruit salads, extracts, juices or homemade granitas, so that they are increasingly attractive, given that most of these foods are often frowned upon by the little ones”, continues the nutritionist.
“When children want particularly sweet food, it is definitely better to offer a piece of chocolate, perhaps high quality dark chocolate, rather than a filled snack. The same goes for jams, perhaps home-made with reduced quantities of added sugar”, concludes Maio .