Proper nutrition is a must for children back in school.
SAN ANTONIO — Most children are now one month into the school year, and that a month of school meals. Making sure they understand proper nutrition is a must in getting those good grades.
Kids need to eat healthy food and drink healthy drinks, especially to prevent things like childhood obesity and diabetes in the future, but also to give them enough energy to get through the school day. Not just for meals, but snacks too. Maya Bryant, a CHIRSTUS Children’s pediatric resident told us, “I think it is great to have routines. However, kids kind of are the leader here. You tell them what to eat, they say how much? So I think it is good to always have something on hand in case they do get hungry faster.”
CHRISTUS Children’s recommends creating a balanced diet by following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate and similar food guides designed for children. Nadia Zamarripa, the program manager for CHRISTUS Children’s Chef Culinary Medicine Program added, “It’s important to balanced and create a healthy plate, which implies dividing the plate, half of the plate, fruits and vegetables, and then a fourth with protein, and the other fourth grains.”
The CDC says across the U.S. most kids consume as much as half of their daily calories at school. The School Nutrition Association says breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day, with students eating breakfast daily scoring an average of 17.5% higher on standardized math tests. They also show up to class by attending 1.5 more days per year than students who don’t eat breakfast. Zamarripa said, “Meal prepping is very important and as much as you incorporate and let the kids participate, they’re going to be more prone to eat the food that they prepare.”
When it comes to drinks, sugary sodas are a no no. Bryant added, “I wouldn’t recommend any soda at all. Soda has about the same amount of sugar as a candy bar. You wouldn’t give your kid two candy bars with lunch, so you probably don’t give them soda with lunch either.”
Baker: “For more advice from the CDC, USDA, and CHRISTUS Children’s about nutrition and healthy meals you can have your child take to school, check out this story on KENS5.com. Jeremy Baker, KENS5.”