Running head: THE EFFECTIVES OF HEALTHY EATING 1

The Effectives of Healthy Eating On Early Childhood Development

Weijia Ren

PPE 310

Arizona State University

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The Effectiveness of Healthy Eating On Early Childhood Development

Introduction

Obesity among children has reached epidemic levels. Changes in lifestyle and poor

eating habits have contributed to the increasing number of overweight children, and this trend

has a negative implication to the health and wellbeing of the society. According to the CDC, it is

important for children and adolescents to be involved in regular activity in order to guarantee

long term wellness and preventing various diseases. However, exercise alone is not enough in

the efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle. Children should be encouraged to eat healthy diets so

that they can enjoy a healthy lifestyle in the long term. However, for such initiatives to be

successful, various stakeholders should be involved. Naturally, parents should be proactive in

ensuring that the children have the proper nutrition. In the same context, schools should also be

involved in the initiative since children spend a considerable amount of their time in such

institutions, and hence it influences their eating habits. Existing research points to the fact that a

combination of healthy diet and exercise prevents obesity, while ensuring that people remain fit.

Literature Review

Benefits of Healthy Eating as a Child

According to an article by SFGATE (2017), what a child eats early in life has a striking

impact on their health as adolescents and ultimately as adults. Children who consume nutritious

foods develop well, have good self-esteem, and perform well academically. One of the most

important benefits of healthy eating for children is the prevention of obesity. According to the
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CDC, 25 percent of people between the ages of 2 and 18 qualify to be overweight. As a result,

overweight children face more risks when it comes to the prevalence of diseases such as high

blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and joint pains. Therefore, when

children are taught good nutritional habits when they are young, it decreases their chances of

obesity when they grow up. Choosing foods that are dense in nutrients, for example, vegetable

and fruits as opposed to junk such as soda and pastry with processed sugar will give a child a

higher quality of life in the long term. Children who eat fish, fruits, whole grains, and meat get

the proper nutritions and calories to grow optimally. Conversely, children who have poor

nutrition grow poorly and have a myriad of health problems including obesity.

Childrens Eating Behavior: The Importance of Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

In a research by Bevans (2011), schools play a crucial role in promoting healthy eating among

children. The researcher argues that for schools to have an impactful feeding program, they have

to determine the association between unhealthy and healthy foods offered during lunch periods

and their impact on the eating behavior of children. Using a cross sectional study that involved

the observation of 2039 students in 22 schools, the research reported the purchase choices of

students in the school cafeteria. The results indicated that when students had nutritious options,

they showed healthier eating habits. Conversely, children who were exposed to unhealthy foods

purchased unhealthy options. Therefore, Bevans (2011) concludes that the availability of

vegetable, fruit, and low fat milk options in the menu is a crucial strategy of ensuring the school

going children embrace healthier lifestyles. Therefore, the decisions made by schools influence

their behavior in the long term, emphasizing their role in promoting healthy living.

The importance of exposure for healthy eating in childhood: a review.

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According to Cooke (2007), the consumption patterns of children are associated with their food

preferences. Therefore, it is important to influence the preferences in order to improve the overall

diets of children. Familiarity of a certain food influences a childs preference towards it. This

means that children like the food that they know and hence their preference is influenced by the

foods they are exposed to from a young age. Laboratory research on the acceptance of food by

children showed that when they gradually taste a food repeatedly, they develop a liking towards

the food. When the same study was replicated to children aged between 5 and 7 years, the results

were the same, in that the developed a liking for vegetables. Therefore, the research concludes

that it is possible to train children to embrace healthy eating habits hence set them on the path of

healthy living.

Healthy eating index and metabolically healthy obesity in U.S. adolescents and adults

Camhi et al (2015) take the research on obesity further by analyzing the difference

between metabolically-healthy-obese (MHO) and metabolically-abnormal-obesity (MAO). The

results indicated that MHOO adolescents scored high in calories from alcohol, solid fats, and

sugars. However, MHO women aged between 19 and 44 year had higher scores of bean, meat,

whole grain, and whole fruit consumption. This meant that the women were more into healthy

eating when compared to their adolescent counterparts. This research has significant implications

since the prevalence of obesity has moved down the age spectrum to adolescents.

Obesity in Children and Teens

In an article by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2016),

approximately 17 percent of adolescent and children in the U.S. are obese. This is equivalent to

12.7 million people. Even though obesity is easily recognized, it is one of the hardest conditions
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to treat. Lack of proper diet and exercise causes 300,000 deaths annually. It also causes the

society approximately $100 billion. Considering the impact of the condition on the society,

urgent solutions are needed to reverse this worrying trend.

Synthesis of the Information

Considering the information provided in the literature review, a healthy diet is not only

associated with healthy growth, but also prevents lifestyle diseases such as obesity effectively.

However, in order to ensure that children adopt healthy diets, it requires a collective effort from

the parents and the school system. Even though parents spend a significant amount of their prime

with children, the modern lifestyle means that children also stay in school for longer periods.

Therefore, they are influenced by the dietary choices available both at home and in school.

All of the cited studies are in consensus that healthy eating is paramount for a healthy

lifestyle. In addition, they conclude that children should be taught a healthy lifestyle early in

their life since it determines the overall health and wellbeing. Researchers provide convincing

evidence that behavior change is possible at an early age. However, if children are not

encouraged to be healthy eaters, it is likely that they will have issues with their weight in the

long term, and consequently battle with diseases such as diabetes.

Three of the cited studies emphasize on teaching children healthy eating habits while they

are young. They state that children pick up behaviors from a young age. Therefore, when they

are encouraged to eat vegetables and fruits at a young age, it is likely that they will develop a

preference for healthy foods. One study in particular argues that when children are given a

certain food consistently, they develop a preference for it. Therefore, when children are given

vegetables and fruits frequently, they will like such foods. In addition, it was discovered that
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children like foods that they are familiar with. Therefore, when they are brought up eating

healthy foods, they will naturally like such diets. To emphasize on the importance of healthy

diets for young children, one study states that children who eat foods which are high in calories

and poor in nutrition face the prospect of becoming obese. Considering that obesity is an

epidemic in the U.S., an urgent intervention is required. Finally, one of the study states that

schools also have a role to play in the dietary choices of children. Schools which provided health

options for the children encouraged them to eat healthily and vice versa.

This research is important in showing that the society should encourage children to eat

healthy while young in order to combat obesity effectively.

Conclusion

Obesity is a major challenge in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Currently, 17

percent of American adolescent and children are classified as obese. Therefore, children should

be encouraged to eat healthy foods from a young age in order to reduce cases of obesity in the

long term. Parents and schools are on the forefront of this initiative, and their intervention will

see children and adolescent embrace healthy eating, consequently living a healthy life.

Appendix A:
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Appendix B:
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Appendix C:
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References

Bevans, K, Sanchez, B, Teneralli,R & Forrest, C. (2011). Childrens Eating Behavior: The

Importance of Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools. J Sch Health. Jul; 81(7): 424

429. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00611.x

Cahmi, S el al. (2015).Healthy eating index and metabolically healthy obesity in U.S.

adolescents and adults. Preventive Medicine, Volume 77, Pages 23-27

Cooke L1. (2007). The importance of exposure for healthy eating in childhood: a review. J Hum

Nutr Diet. Aug;20(4):294-301.

Obesity In Children And Teens. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

(2016). retrieved from

http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-

Guide/Obesity-In-Children-And-Teens-079.aspx

What Is the Importance of Good Nutrition For Kids? SFGATE. (nd). Retrieved from

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/importance-good-nutrition-kids-6236.html
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