Well - Fall 2012 - (Page 12)

NUTriTioN Make the Most of Family Meals Eating dinner together isn’t just about the food. It’s also about strengthening relationships and teaching healthy eating habits. O ver the years, parents and children have drifted from the traditional, sit-down family meal. Families have become more plugged into technology, more involved in activities and more overwhelmed with busy schedules. These factors, among others, have contributed to the demise of the family meal around the dinner table. Despite research that indicates regular family meals promote healthy eating habits, families still struggle to find time to eat together. Patricia Becker, MS, RD, clinical nutrition manager for UNC Health Care’s Outpatient Nutrition Services, recommends the following tips to parents to encourage eating as a family and to help kids develop healthy eating habits from an early age. set a good example. Children imitate what they see adults and older children doing. Eating together as a family is most beneficial when parents model healthy eating behaviors. Parents can lay the groundwork for their kids’ current and future eating habits and lifestyles by enjoying a wide variety of foods, eating fruits and vegetables, giving their children milk with meals and serving appropriate portion sizes. Create positive relationships. Family meals can foster better communication between parents and kids. Spending quality time together as a family is an opportunity to share stories and thoughts and to help parents stay connected to what is happening in their kids’ lives. Use tools to facilitate healthy habits. Children are less likely to eat from a bag of chips or drink from a 2-liter soda bottle while eating with family members at the table. Using plates, cups and utensils at the table encourages children to eat slowly and to decrease portion sizes. Learning proper serving sizes and how to eat slowly are important habits kids will take with them as they grow older. Plan meals. Unplanned eating is typically less healthy than planned eating. The challenge is the lack of knowledge about which ingredients are healthy. When parents are aware of healthy options, they tend to use less fat, sugar and salt because there is more control over the ingredients of the food provided. Control portion sizes. Portion control is especially difficult due to the food industry and skewed perception of correct portion sizes. Once parents know the proper amounts of food depending on age, meals can be both filled with healthy ingredients and served in the proper amounts. Follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate guidelines for meal planning and portion control. For more information about MyPlate guidelines, visit www.choosemyplate.gov. By the Numbers The following data reflect family eating patterns as reported in the 2010 Importance of Family Dinners VI study published by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. • Sixty percent of teens report having dinner with their families at least five times a week. • Three-quarters of teens say they talk to their parents about what is going on in their lives at dinner. • Nearly eight in 10 parents agree that by having dinner together they learn more about what is going on in their teens’ lives. • Among teens who report having fewer than five family dinners per week, 60 percent say they would like to have dinner with their parents more often. • Seventy-two percent of teens think that eating dinner frequently with their parents is very or fairly important. • Teens who have five to seven family dinners per week are almost three times more likely to say they have an excellent relationship with their mother and father than teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week. 12 Fall 2012 Well Photo: Sarah MatISta PhotograPhy http://www.choosemyplate.gov

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Well - Fall 2012

Well - Fall 2012
Contents
UNC Health Care News
Community
In the Right Place
A World Without Food Allergies
Healing and Hope Through Science
Nutrition
Calendar

Well - Fall 2012

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