What we can do to improve children’s nutrition

“We can have no progress without change, whether it be [in] basketball or anything else,” said coach John Wooden, who led UCLA to 10 NCAA national championships in 12 years. And we are happy to say that when it comes to kids’ nutrition, there have been important changes that have led to progress.

The number of high school students who could buy soda in school was cut in half, from 53.6% in 2006-2007 to 25.3% in 2010-2011. A study in JAMA that looked at the diets of more than 31,400 kids, ages 2-19, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the years 1999 to 2016, found that the proportion of children and adolescents with poor diets declined from 77% to 56%.

That’s certainly heading in the right direction. But it still means that more than half of the nation’s kids have a diet that is woefully unhealthy. Less than 40% of the time, they’re eating the recommended amount of veggies, fruit, lean protein and grains, and avoiding sugary drinks and excess sodium.

And, the researchers found, almost 44% of kids have an intermediate diet — meaning that it is well short of the national guidelines for healthy eating but does sometimes hit some of the standards (the kids are eating well 40% to 79.9% of the time).

Put those two together, and you’ve got about 100% who are nutritionally deprived and at hugely increased risk for poor school performance and premature health woes, such as Type 2 diabetes, elevated lousy LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, autoimmune diseases and mental health problems! Only 0.25% of kids meet the ideal nutritional standards at least 80% of the time.

Make Changes for Progress

Kids learn from example — at home and school. As parents and caretakers, you can do a lot to help all children achieve substantial nutritional progress. Here’s your four-step plan for improved child nutrition: Step One: Make a shopping list

■ Identify all ultraprocessed and sugar-added food you have. Those go on your “Buy No More” list.

■ Make a list of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables you have on hand, or don’t!

You and your kids age 9 to 11 should each aim to eat around 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day. Younger kids need less. You also want to have around two servings a day of 100% whole grains. The good news: The USDA estimates that the average consumer can buy their daily diet of fresh and frozen produce for $2.10 to $2.60 a day.

■ Now, make a shopping list, and ask the kids what they would like to cook and eat.

Step Two: Get the kids into the kitchen

If you bring your children into the meal planning and cooking process, they will be interested in tasting what’s put on the table in front of them.

■ Check out these guides to trying new recipes with your kids: Go to nutrition.gov and search for Kids in the Kitchen.

Step Three: Listen to their feedback

■ You’re trying hard to upgrade your family’s nutritional profile, and you’re getting complaints. Ask the complainers to come up with ideas they would like to try. Modify old, unhealthy favorites. For example, if the kids want fried chicken nuggets, check out online recipes for oven-baked tenders.

Step Four: Work with your school to improve school lunches

If you want to improve your children’s nutrition, it’s important that their school food is up to snuff when they are back in class.

■ Advocate for a Meatless Monday program (got to www. meatlessmonday.com; search for Meatless Monday for K-12 Schools).

■ Check out ideas from the Natural Resources Defense Council; go to www.nrdc.org and search for “getting a better school lunch.”

■ Have your school’s parent-teacher association investigate the Smarter Lunchroom Movement from the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Program. Got to https://snapedtoolkit.org for details.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit sharecare.com.

(c)2020 Michael Roizen, M.D.

and Mehmet Oz, M.D.