Nutrition Tips

Proper nutrition is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Esse Health offers these tips to help you and your family incorporate nutritious foods into your daily life.

Nutrition Tips

Breastfeeding of infants offers a host of benefits, including lowering the risk of childhood obesity. Studies show that breastfeeding for longer than 4 to 6 months has been linked to this reduction in risk. In addition, the more rapid initial weight gain seen in formula-fed babies, even in the first week of life, may contribute to adult obesity.

Childhood obesity is becoming increasingly common. Here are some tips based on the age of your child. At mealtime, children should not be encouraged to eat everything on their plate. Offer low-fat or nonfat dairy in place of whole milk for children over the age of two. Also, keep your child's food portion sizes to the size of his fist. If offered larger portions, the child is likely to increase his food intake by more than 30%, and he may avoid the "good for you" foods like vegetables while filling up on fattier foods.

Getting kids to try new foods can be challenging. Studies show that new nutritious foods need to be offered an average of 8 to 10 times before they are accepted. Most parents give up after 3 to 4 refusals, so be patient!

School-age children need healthy choices. Snacks during school, after school or on the weekends can offer ways to increase protein and vitamin intake for kids of all ages.