Recommended Diet for Children 3 Years and Up

The 2018 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) study illustrated how sweets displaced the more important food in the diet. It is therefore crucial that children starting at a young age be trained and inspired to eat healthy by focusing on the nutrients in the simple lessons of “go, grow, and glow” food taught in preschool.

Food behavior during preschool years

Children within the preschool years display heightened curiosity. It is during this period that they are better at socializing with peers and can better express their needs and preferences especially with food. This is the best time when healthy eating can be established because children are less oppositional and would want to please their parents. Conversely, it is also during this period when parents and family members should exhibit best behavior in their eating habits since children tend to imitate adults and older siblings.

Planning meals

The diet of preschoolers each day should be planned based on the nutritional principles of balance, variety and moderation (Figure 1). The food group pyramid provides a graphic model of what and how much of the food items should be consumed to meet children’s nutritional and health needs.

Nutrient-filled foods comprising of meat, fruits, vegetables milk and milk products are good sources and should not be missed in their diet since these food items add variety to the current nutrient-poor diet of Filipino children. Milk that is 100% lactose with zero sucrose or zero sugar is recommended to provide the necessary nutrients and similarly protects the child from the less beneficial carbohydrates such as sucrose or table sugar.

Food plate

A simpler way of planning every meal is by the use of the food plate (Figure 2). Partitioning the plate into food portions that provide essential nutrients is easy to remember and simple to follow.

The food plate helps you see the food that make a healthy meal. Each meal should have a serving of fruit, vegetable, protein (e.g. meat, poultry, seafood, egg), grains (e.g., wheat, rice, oats, bread), and dairy (e.g., milk). Look for food that is low in sodium and replace highly-sugared drinks with milk or water.

The daily diet of preschoolers should be planned based on the nutritional principles of balance, variety, and moderation. Children should be trained and inspired to eat healthy “go, grow, and glow” food. Parents and older family members should also serve as role models for healthy eating behaviors.

 References:

1. Angeles-Agdeppa I, et al. Inadequate nutrient intakes in Filipino schoolchildren and adolescents are common among those from rural areas and poor families. Food Nutr Res. 2019; 63: 10.29219/fnr.v63.3435.

2. Battad G, Panlilio MLBC. The Sugar Story. 2019. Feeding Infant and Toddlers Study - State of the Nutrition Address, Nestle Nutrition Institute. PowerPoint Presentation.

3. Davis OL, Lindmeier C. WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children. World Health Organization [Internet]. 2015 March 4 [cited 2020 May 18]. Available from: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/.

4. Denney L, Angeles-Agdeppa I, et al. Nutrient Intakes and Food Sources of Filipino Infants, Toddlers and Young Children are Inadequate: Findings from the National Nutrition Survey 2013. Nutrients 2018;10: 1730.

5. Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Science and Technology. Philippine Dietary Reference Intakes 2015: Summary Tables. 2018 September.

6. Panlilio MLBC. “Young Child Feeding Should Be Right and Tight”. 2019. Nestle Nutrition Institute, article.

7. Romero-Velarde, Enrique et al. The Importance of Lactose in the Human Diet: Outcomes of a Mexican Consensus Meeting. Nutrients. 12 Nov. 2019.11(11):2737.

8. Tamborlane WV. The Yale Guide to Children’s Nutrition. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1997.

9. World Health Organization (WHO). e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA), Guidelines: Reducing free sugars intake in children and adults, 2015.