Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Start to the New Year

Many adults make a point of setting resolutions they want to maintain in the New Year. According to the Pew Research Center, 79% of those Americans making New Year's resolutions want to improve their health through diet or exercise. If you are one of the many adults aiming to set this goal and are also a parent, you might want to include your kids in the plan. Why? The eating habits of America’s children are putting them at risk of becoming overweight and developing diabetes and high blood pressure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that one in five children are obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for age and sex. A 2021 study of parents found that in their young children ages 1 to 5 years, 32% did not eat a daily fruit and 49% did not eat a daily vegetable during the preceding week. Yet 57% drank a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once during that same time frame. Multiple studies show that the high consumption of sugar has a negative impact on children’s academic performance, learning and memory.

If you want to make improved health through better nutrition a family affair, here are the top five kid-friendly ideas to help you get started.

Limit High-Sugar Food Choices

Kids tend to have a preference for sugary treats, and commercial food packagers know their target market. In reality, 80% of foods produced for children contain high levels of added sugar. This includes less obvious items such as juices, cereals and yogurt. It isn’t always easy to spot sugar on ingredient lists, since different types of sugar have different names, such as sucrose, glucose, or fructose. Other sugar types, such as galactose, lactose, and maltose, are less common. Fortunately, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates that the amount of added sugar in a food or beverage must be listed on the nutrition facts label, along with the percent Daily Value (DV).

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends less than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of sugar per day for children ages 2 to 18 years. That includes no more than 8 ounces of sugar-sweetened drinks per week. It is useful to note that every 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. To compare some of the more common foods marketed for children, you’ll find about 12 grams (2-1/2 teaspoons of sugar) in:

One serving (1 cup) of a typical kid’s breakfast cereal.
One fruit-filled snack bar.
Two cookies.

A single 20-ounce bottle of a typical sports drink can have between 30 and 35 grams of added sugar---more than an entire day’s limit. Clearly, finding ways to lower your child’s consumption of sugar may take some detective work, but it will pay dividends in minimizing their intake and lowering their risk of developing multiple health conditions. Here are some possible alternatives for high-sugar snacks and beverages:

Swap milkshakes for fruit smoothies - Blend fat-free or low-fat yogurt or milk with fruit pieces and crushed ice. Fresh or frozen bananas, berries, peaches or pineapple all make for a tasty treat, and adding a little peanut butter can also provide some protein.
Offer fruit popsicles in place of ice cream - Fruit popsicles can be made by putting fresh fruit, like a peeled banana, on a stick and freezing.
Swap oatmeal for cereal - You can make overnight oats the night before with milk, oats, and mashed banana, or substitute your child’s favorite fruit.

Remember, an occasional sweet treat is alright, but be careful about making cookies, candy or cupcakes a reward for good behavior. The goal is to instill good eating habits and help kids be mindful about choosing foods laden with sugar.

Offer a Variety of Foods

Kids can be picky eaters, but that doesn’t mean they can’t acquire a taste for healthy foods. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the only rules are to include choices from each food group in meals and snacks every day and limit foods high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium. Make your selections from fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, dairy and fortified soy alternatives.

To expand your kids’ palate, try buying different in-season fruits and vegetables which are at their peak of taste and freshness. You can also introduce new options from various cultures and cuisines. Experiment with different herbs and aromatics such as onions and garlic. Your kids may surprise you by liking new kinds of foods, but they can’t if they never get the opportunity to experiment.

And in the spirit of embracing novelty, you can also try new preparations for items your kids may not have liked initially. They may not care for raw broccoli but like it cooked, and vice versa for carrots. Fish may not be a food item they will eat, but perhaps kid-size shrimp that is cooked and chilled may appeal to their sense of fun since it becomes finger food. You can also try plating food in a way that makes food visually interesting. Create a rainbow with different vegetables (from cauliflower to carrots, sweet potatoes and red bell peppers), or keep the color palate the same. For instance, you can use green beans, peas, zucchini and asparagus, or mangos, peaches and tangerines. Remember, the more new foods you allow your kids to try, the better the chances that they will learn to have a broad and varied diet.

Include Kids in Grocery Shopping, Meal Preparation and Nutrition

Getting your kids involved in food selection and preparation has many benefits:

Studies show that when children help prepare a dish, they are more willing to try it than if it was just served to them.
Depending on their age, children can benefit from increased coordination, enhanced planning skills, creativity and even teamwork.
Older children can help lighten the load for parents when it comes to getting meals on the table.
Planning and making meals together provides additional family time that otherwise would have been lost.
Learning to prepare meals is a basic skill that every adult should master.

Take your kids with you when grocery shopping, and ask them what items they would like for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Walking through the aisles allows you to show them what items belong to each food group or for older kids, how to read food labels. Ask them what new foods they want to try, and pick out a new fresh, frozen or canned vegetable or fruit every few trips. You can task them with selecting the freshest-looking vegetables or fruit and placing them in produce bags. The actual experience of selecting and touching fruits and veggies can make your children more comfortable seeing them on their plates and making wise choices when you are not present.

As children get older, they can help plan the menu at home and then pick out the foods to match the menu items while shopping. A trip to the Farmer’s Market can be an experience for both you and your kids, where learning about new types of produce and sampling them can be fun.

When it comes to meal preparation, there is a lot that kids can do. They can wash vegetables, flatten burger patties, help mix pancake batter, or pour fruit into a blender. Older kids can chop veggies or make a salad with lettuce greens. Getting your children involved in the kitchen gives them confidence in cooking and offers you teaching moments as well.

Don’t Skip Breakfast

There is an old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and for kids that is especially true. Studies show that students who eat breakfast have more concentration and focus, are more likely to reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math, score higher on standardized tests, are more alert and maintain a healthier weight.

The best breakfast is a healthy balance of fruits and vegetables, proteins, grains and dairy. Milk is an ideal beverage for a child or teen to drink at breakfast because it contains protein and other nutrients. The protein will help prevent your child or teen from feeling hungry later. Other healthy choices beyond typical breakfast foods like cereal, eggs and toast include:

Frozen banana: Dip a banana in yogurt. Roll it in crushed nuts and freeze.
Milkshake: Combine milk, fruit and ice in a blender.
Peanut butter breakfast: Spread peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers, apple slices, a tortilla or jicama slices.

If time constraints make it difficult to serve breakfast, you can always prepare it the night before. You can:

Hard-boil eggs or make scrambled egg sandwiches.
Slice up fresh fruit.
Make overnight oats with berries and milk.
Bake muffins and divide them into serving sizes.

Greek yogurt with fruit or peanut butter on whole-grain toast are quick and healthy meals to offer your children. If you can sit down and enjoy breakfast together, that’s even better, but the primary goal is to fortify your kids with a healthy breakfast before starting their day.

Set a Good Example

Going back to the beginning of this blog—setting a New Year’s resolution to improve your own diet and nutrition---is a great reminder of how you can model good behavior for your kids, and how these same tips can benefit you. If cutting calories and losing weight is the goal, eating more fruits and vegetables and less high-fat, high-sugar foods will help you accomplish that resolution. Eating a healthy breakfast will keep you fuller longer and help you avoid empty snacking later in the day. And experts agree that having a plan for mealtimes and snacks, rather than grabbing what’s around, will help you stay in control of what—and how much—you eat.

So remember that depending on the age of your kids, they may already be watching you and picking up on your dietary habits, both good and bad. If you are snacking on chips on the couch, that’s implicit permission for them to do so as well. If you choose nutritious snacks for yourself, however, you are sending your kids a very different message—and one that will benefit you both. You can add bonus points for taking a morning or after-dinner walk, especially if it’s an activity you do together as a family. Eating together at the table when possible is another way your child can observe your good behavior.

Setting a resolution to improve nutrition for a healthy start to the new year is a great goal, for adults and their kids alike. By making a plan and sticking to it, parents can help set their children up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.

Roy Nattiv, M.D., is a pediatric gastroenterologist specialist at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women's Hospital Long Beach, serving as the co-medical director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program. He is a board-certified pediatrician, fellowship trained in pediatric gastroenterology (GI), hepatology and nutrition. Dr. Nattiv graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and received his medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel. He completed his pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and his fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Benioff Children's Hospital.

During his time at UCSF, Dr. Nattiv was awarded the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Fellow to Faculty Award in Pediatric IBD Research. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, NASPGHAN and the International Society for Stem Cell Research. In the clinic, Dr. Nattiv is able to leverage his clinical and scientific knowledge to provide advanced care for children who suffer from gastrointestinal and liver disease, including Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.