Unhealthy Eating in Kids

If you were to Google “unhealthy eating in kids,” your search would result in countless articles that reference excessive food portions, villainize sugar, discuss salt and fat intake, and warn against specific food types/products—all through the lens of addressing “excess body weight.” Weight and body size do not determine health status alone. Growth markers and physical development are essential in monitoring one’s health.

Consider, for a moment, that your relationship with food is just as important as the decisions you make when consuming food. Along with that truth, how we learn about nutrition and health as children impacts our relationship with food and our body throughout our lifetime.

Studies have shown that the way parents (moms in particular) speak about weight, body size and food can increase the risk for unhealthy attitudes and behaviors related to food in children. This is not to place blame or point fingers; these are messages we’ve learned from diet culture.

In a Business Wire report in February 2019, the weight-loss and diet industry are worth $72 billion, a powerhouse of products and messages telling us how we can do better and look better. Childhood through adolescence is a critical time in foundational health—bone development, generalized growth, puberty and brain development are not to be overlooked. During this same time, the environment, influences, behaviors and routines associated with nourishing your body; exploring food pleasure; and autonomous food decision-making are also being established.

Feeling as though you are not good enough feeds poor self-esteem and can develop into long-term insecurities that arise during key childhood and adolescent years.

By // Megan A. Kniskern MS, RD, LD/N, CEDRD-S

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