Today’s theme is dedicated to preparing for the return to school, from the nutritional point of view it is observed that in this stage of life, both for preschoolers and schoolchildren and adolescents, overweight as child malnutrition reached its peak in Latin Americarepresenting a serious public health problem.
As a consequence of an inadequate intake of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) due to poor habits and lack of knowledge of parents, suelen presentarse eating disorders that affect nutritional status and for all your health, it is common to observe a routine and monotonous diet, of low quality, which leads to a low content of micronutrients: vitamins and minerals, with a tendency to malnutrition.
One should not fall into the error that a child under the category of “fat” is healthy or well nourished, so many priests are glad to have them in these conditions or think that no major complication will happen to their cut age. Childhood obesity can generate multiple complications in health, such as insulin resistance, hyperglycemiadebuting with diabetes type 2 diabetes at an early age, changes in blood pressure and liver disorders, which is why it is vitally important to stop its progress with preventive measures in a quick and timely manner.
It is suggested during the day to offer the consumption of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, including them from the school lunch box, since it is vital to balance all the foods to be eaten during the day, avoiding ultra-processed products that contain high caloric indices. A preschool or school child who is not well fed cannot have an adequate academic performance. That’s why it’s important that family parents evaluate the foods they will include in the school lunch box for the good performance and growth of their children.
In order to make parents aware of pediatric nutrition, I propose to put into practice the following guidelines to make loncheras more nutritious every day:
1. Realize one weekly schedule where they offer energy foods of natural origin, avoid them as much as possible with packaged foods, in order to vary the source of complex carbohydrates, proteins and greases. This is to say, your purchases in the market will be less processed.
2. Avoid having in your kitchen foods with empty calories, mostly ultra-processed products: cashew cereals, high sugar cookies, snacks made with vegetable oils, bottled yokes and golosinas. Esto deteriorates its development.
3. Avoid sending sugary drinks together with the food, the water is the liquid that cannot be missing and is enough. There is no need to send a lonchera always with some sweet drinks, yoke or colada since not all children are needed and it is better to reduce added sugars.
4. The fruits are ideal options to send to the school, try to ensure that they are offered in their natural state, whatever they are, offer them in a pleasant way with different shapes and colors, you can accompany them with yogurt and dry fruits.
5. If your child is studying in the morning and returns after 14:00 to eat his lunch, the refrigerator must be more consistent keeping a better ratio of proteins and carbohydrates, for example: a sandwich of vegetables and vegetables + fruit + yoghurt + water. Consider that if you have a child that does not eat, it must also include a reinforced version of soda adapted to the activities of the child.
6. If you study in the afternoon, consider sending it back to eat a lunch balanced with complex carbohydrates, choosing a maximum of two at a time, such as rice and meat always accompanied by vegetables and a protein source such as chicken, pork, liver, res. The mid-afternoon soda will also depend on your current nutritional status.
Remember that although some schools have between two and three playgrounds, this does not mean that food must be sent to each playground. It’s a mistake to have children all day consuming food. Those times should be encouraged to do recreational activities like playing with your friends. Now that the majority of children are in preparation for returning to school, try to organize your meals by setting up purchases in advance to avoid improvising, considering that he lunch do not replace breakfast or lunch, instead it is complementary, and if you require more guidance, you should seek nutritional advice.
Finally, some recommendations to continue avoiding the contagion of COVID-19 in schools: do not share food or utensils of the school lonchera and wash your hands before and after consuming food.
The changes in eating habits and lifestyles should be in the family, constituting a fundamental part of the management of different nutritional situations in children and adolescents, following all the recommendations described without a doubt will improve in an integral way the health of everyone at home .
TIPS TO CONSUMER VEGETALES IN LAS LONCHERAS:
If your child is not used to eating vegetables, you should start with love, informing him with patience about the origin of these and their benefit to health, you should integrate him to observe preparations in which these foods are included and make props that attract him more to his taste:
1. If you are going to send preparations with new or meat, add vegetables in a revoltillo/tortilla way; If you prefer to combine the meat with the ground meat, choose a vegetable at a time to start. Example: Spinach revolt or ground beef sautéed with tomato.
2. Can you include in the sandwich or wrap que vaya a prepare sheets of espinaca, lechuga or cucumber wheels, zanahoria grated and sliced apio, which are the most resistant in the time until it reaches the playground.
3. Prepare props based on natural yoghurt, mustard, salt, cilantro, avocado and other specialties of your taste. You can integrate these ingredients, so that they replace the mayonesa, tomato sauce or margarine. (F)
