Why Is Nutrition Important for Children?

Nutrition is important for children because:-

* Children need good nutrition because their bodies are growing and developing.
* Childrens diets tend to be high in sugar and starch, depleting their bodies of essential nutrients required for optimal growth and energy.
* Obesity rates in children have doubled in the last two decades.
* Children need good nutrition to avoid food allergies.
* Children need good nutrition to avoid obesity due to inactivity and a poor diet.
* Children need good nutrition to avoid diet and inactivity related disease in the future.
* Much of the food available to us is so processed that it retains very little of the original nutrients.
* Much food is loaded with artificial additives and sprayed with pesticides, so our bodies are becoming overloaded with chemicals.
* Much of the food readily available to us contains "hidden" sugar, even though it may be advertised as being high fibre or otherwise healthy.
* Unhealthy eating habits result in lifelong health problems and diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.
* Unhealthy eating habits often result in excess weight and obesity.
* Our lifestyles put a greater strain on our bodies and good nutrition minimises damage.

Why Is Nutrition Important for Children?

What we can do to improve childrens nutrition.

* Drinking sufficient water every day is a very important part of our nutrition. It is the easiest and the first step we should take in improving our nutrition.
* We need to strive for a good balance between drinking sufficient water, eating a healthy variety of food with good nutritional value and doing sufficient exercise. They are all very important.
* The simple solution to these problems is to minimise our chemical intake and make sure that the food we eat has the optimum nutritional value.
* Healthy snacking can be a great way to supplement your child’s nutrition and give them the energy they need when they come home from school or before playing in team sports.
* Healthy snacks include colorful fruits and vegetables, celery and wholegrain crackers.