Unhealthy food is like a drug

Picture: www.healthassist.net

A 2010 study conducted in the USA has finally found a link between eating unhealthy 'caffeteria-type' food and drug addictive behaviour. The study, which was conducted on rats, found that obesity goes hand-in-hand with a breakdown in the circuits of the brain that control pleasure responses - the very same changes that are seen when rats are given heroin or cocaine.

Lead researcher from The Scripps Research Institute in Florida, Paul Kenny, explains, "Overconsumption of highly pleasurable foods triggers addiction-like neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuits, driving the development of compulsive eating."

The study found that the addiction was so profound that the rats would continue to eat the unhealthy palatable food despite the fact that they would receive a negative response in the form of an electric shock. And even more, when the food was taken from the rats and they were offered a healthier 'salad diet', they simply refused and chose rather to starve themselves for up to two weeks.

Children, it seems, are on the short end of this conundrum, as 'ready-made' and 'quick and easy' food is hardly ever healthy and would, as I am sure you will agree, fall under the 'caffeteria-style' umbrella.

The question is, are time-and-cash-strapped parents trading their children's health for easier, quicker and cheaper ways in which to prepare food for their families? American Professor of Medicine, John Banzhaf seems to think so.

Two years ago, he started legal action against fast-food conglomerate MacDonald's, who he claims target young children by selling addictive food. He believes that suppliers of unhealthy fast-food will be targeted the same way in which tobacco companies were roughly a decade ago.

The good news? Now you know why your toddler won't eat anything but sausage and chips... and now you can make an informed choice on behalf of your children.

As we've said before, we don't always bring you popular subjects, but rather bring you knowledge in the hopes that when parents know better, they do better.

Source: Nature Neuroscience
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1038/nn.2519
“Dopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats”
Authors: P.M. Johnson, P.J. Kenny
A full copy of the paper is freely available here.
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nn.2519.pdf



The Practica Team
parents who know better, do better

Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za

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A Smorgasbord of Food Tips

While some children are absolute dreams when it comes to mealtimes, roughly 50% of all children 'eat too little', their parents believe. And this is according to Dr Christopher Green, from his book called Toddler Taming, A Parents' Guide to the First Four Years (Random House).

Below we introduce ideas from two books about feeding a fussy eater - some of them overlap and they are intended for you to take and use in your unique situation with your toddler:

Toddler Taming (Dr Christopher Green, Random House):

1. Avoid disorganised, disturbed, noisy mealtimes - your toddler should sit and eat with the rest of the family, but if this is impractical, a parent should sit next to the child and feed her before the main family meal.

2. Your toddler should ideally be given a variety of well-balanced foods - however, if she dislikes variety, then a repetitive but nutritious diet is perfectly acceptable. After all, she's the one who has to eat it, not you.

3. Adult eating habits should be encouraged - but it is no disaster if your child decides to return to the main course after having polished off her pudding.

4. Use labour-saving cooking ideas - because it is hard to stay calm when your wilful toddler refuses a dish that has taken hours to prepare.

5. Gently encourage a child to eat - NEVER force.

6. Once it is obvious that the child is not going to eat any more, wipe her hands and face clean and allow her to get down from the table - whether this is after five minutes or half an hour, don't worry about it. If your child is dawdling over her food, leave her to dawdle without an audience after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed.

7. Display no anger if food is not eaten - put the untouched plate in the fridge and bring it out later on request. If your child refuses a meal, she must not be allowed to top up on milk, chips and the like.


Babies and Toddlers, How to survive them (Jane-Anne Hobbs, Zebra Press)

1. Work out what your responsibility is - provide your toddler with a variety of healthy foods, set times for mealtimes and snacks, and lay down guidelines about table manners. What she eats from the nutritious variety you present to her, and how much she eats, is up to her.

2. Be assured your toddler will not starve - when she becomes hungry enough, she will eat, and she'll eat exactly what and how much she needs - as long as she's not tempted by unhealthy options.

3. Acknowledge your toddler's right to be picky - it is important to respect your child's wishes. She is perfectly entitled to her own likes and dislikes. The challenge is to accept preferences and find ways of working around them.

4. Remember, your toddler has her own internal pressures - no child is born without an appetite. Your child's food desires are driven by her appetite; when she needs to eat, she will.

5. Don't coerce your toddler - the 'clean plate' policy is something from the past. Don't ever force your child to finish what is on her plate. Try taking the pressure off completely, and see if she abandons her hunger strike.

6. Accept that your toddler might not be hungry - if she's been snacking all day for some or other reason, it's only natural that she might not be hungry.

7. Cut down on milk and juice - your child's tummy may be full and she may not even register hunger pangs. Consider limiting milk and juice to a safe intake and her appetite might improve dramatically!

8. Ask yourself if your toddler's really suffering - if your child is not underweight for her age, if she has tons of energy and is having regular bowel movements, there is very little chance that she's not getting the nourishment she needs.

9. Try to make food fun - even the most reluctant eater can be lured with interestingly presented food, or even a picnic in the garden instead of lunch at the table!

We hope that these collection of tips at least gives you a point from which to start addressing your child's eating habits. You may even find that your child is completely 'normal' and you were actually holding unrealistic expectations.

The good news is that food-fights need not be part of your daily routine!

Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better

Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za

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The Four Keys to Ending Food Wars

Photography: Loren Stow
http://www.lorenstow.co.za/

We've all been there... the day that our once-compliant and well-fed baby turns her nose up at meal-time, followed by a clear and concise 'no!'. She shakes her head and just plainly refuses a meal that mere days ago she gobbled down with delight! And before you know it, she's surviving on a diet of cheese curls and banana - refusing any other food-related material that tries to pass her lips...

How did this happen? And why? And... most importantly... will it ever end?

Firstly, let us start by saying that your toddler is not the first, nor will she be the last, to baffle a parent at possibly every mealtime for months on end...

The reason for this is because the first year of life is one of tremendous growth, where a baby can triple its birth weight. Yes - that is some serious growing, and nutrition is very important to support this growth. However, from gaining around 6kgs in the first year, your toddler will only gain around 1-2kgs in her second year. Therefore, she doesn't need as much food as she once did.

This reduction in appetite, coupled with a complete lack of a social understanding of food, creates a toddler who often is not hungry and doesn't want to eat at mealtimes. Your toddler simply does not understand that breakfast time means sitting down to eat - unlike adults who will often eat at prescribed mealtimes (whether or not they are hungry), because we have a strong social understanding of eating (which our toddlers have yet to learn).

Now, there is little you can do to increase a toddler's appetite, but there are certain key points to remember to make it easier to coax your little one into eating at mealtimes. This is important to try to achieve, as you are laying the foundation of your toddler's social and emotional connections to food during the second year of life.

1. Don't fall back on a bottle of milk...

The most important key to remember is that your toddler must be hungry enough to want to eat. So, cast your mind as to what you are feeding your toddler and when. Then ask yourself if your toddler is simply not hungry enough to try that balanced meal you worked so hard to prepare?

One of the biggest culprits in keeping toddlers' tummies full is too much milk. According to Ann Richardson (author of Toddlersense), your toddler needs only about 400mls of normal milk per day, and this includes sources such as yogurt and cheese as well. Ann suggests two bottles per day only - one in the early morning and one at night before bed.

Many parents decide to give their toddler a bottle of milk when they've skipped a meal in order to ensure that they're getting enough 'goodness' into them... However, this is only serving to fill your toddler's tummy and make her even less likely to try to eat at mealtimes.

On the contrary, it is in her best interest to make sure that she is hungry enough to want to explore new tastes and textures at mealtime - or else your toddler might get stuck at eating only a limited number of foods for many years to come!

2. Don't overlook those empty calories...

The second culprit is feeding your toddler empty calories - such as cheese curls, biscuits and the like.  Because these snacks taste good, a toddler will almost 'inhale' them in a gleeful mini-binge... however, these foods are once again taking up valuable tummy-space and are leaving your toddler with a feeling of being full. And... come meal-time... your toddler isn't hungry enough to eat.

Don't skip the snacks altogether, since there is much research that supports six small meals a day in order to keep your blood sugar levels constant. However, make these healthy snacks and time them so that they are not too close to meal-times.


3. Just relax...

Often, when a toddler doesn't eat they're greeted with Mom making airplane noises as the food 'flies' into their mouths, while Dad is dancing and singing a tune - all in an effort to get her to eat... Naturally, this is entertaining and your little one will want more, and she knows that to make this happen again, all she has to do is refuse to eat...

In short, when your toddler refuses to eat, don't make a big fuss. Try simply removing the plate and telling her, "Don't worry honey, you don't have to eat. When you're hungry, you tell Mommy," at which point you can offer the food she refused earlier. No fuss, no pleading, no amazing entertainment show...


4. Set the tone...

During the second and third years of life, your toddler is closely studying the key people in her life for their responses to their environment. In that way she learns a great deal about the world around her, including what is desirable and what is not desirable. Toddlers are not called 'little sponges' for nothing.

Because of this, it is important to model for your child how much you enjoy eating healthy, good food. Use facial expressions and words to show them how much you enjoy eating, and why not put an apple up as a reward for being good instead of a chocolate? 

Conversely, if you have a dislike for a certain food (for me, it's peanut butter), don't pass this onto your children. I ensure that I offer my children foods that I don't necessarily like, because they might like them one day!

It may seem obvious now, but let's recap:

Toddlers are no longer as hungry as they once were because they are simply not growing as fast as they did when they were babies. Toddlers have no social or emotional concept of food, so they still have to learn why they need to eat at certain times. As parents, it is our role to introduce our toddlers to the social, nurturing and comforting value of good food, but it is often difficult, especially when we don't allow them to become hungry enough to want to eat. If we never allow our toddlers to associate hunger with the relief of eating nutritious food, they will most likely continue to refuse food at mealtimes.

So, become a 'food detective' and figure out if you're often n allowing your toddler to become hungry enough to be motivated to enjoy good food and experiment with new tastes at mealtimes. A child will never starve itself, although many will embark on 'hunger strikes' that will send a parent into an emotional and mental tizz... But hold steadfast, and at least allow your toddler to opportunity to feel a bit hungry at times, as well as the awesome satisfaction that good food brings afterwards.

These tips may not completely fix the frustrations and fears that parents face at mealtimes with a toddler, because toddlers are toddlers after all! However, they may go a long way towards making it a little easier to deal with this common stage in development.

Good luck!

Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better

Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za

If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za