Dietary recommendations

The risks associated with unhealthy eating and disordered lifestyles begin in early childhood and accumulate throughout life. A healthy lifestyle during childhood, adolescence and young adulthood significantly determines optimal growth and development, while reducing the risk of non-communicable or chronic diseases in the short, medium and long term.

Formation and development of eating behavior

Eating behavior is defined as the behavior of human beings in relation to eating habits, the selection of the foods they eat, the culinary forms of preparation and the amounts they habitually eat.

The eating habits and lifestyle of the people closest to them - parents, younger siblings, and family - is the initial model that children follow to acquire the first habits and behaviors; therefore, the role of the family, and mainly of parents, is crucial in the establishment of an adequate eating behavior.

How can parents help to develop an appropriate feeding behavior in their children?

• By selecting absolute breastfeeding from the first moments of life as the ideal way to feed the baby and maintaining it for at least one year.
• Starting complementary feeding preferably from the sixth month of life and never before four months of age.
• Gradually increase the introduction of a greater number of healthy foods in the baby's diet from the sixth month; this will favor a greater acceptance of different flavors, aromas and textures in later stages.

• When children reject a food, it should be removed from the table without insisting and after a few days, introduce it to them again without forcing them. Repeating the operation until it is accepted is the best way to combat the rejection of certain foods. Never resort to the "little plane game" or offer rewards or punishments for them to eat everything.
• From the sixth month, increase the baby's self-feeding by allowing the intervention of his hands and then the spoon to put the food in his mouth.
• Encourage the child to eat at the table together with the other members of the family at least once a day in order to promote their food education.
• Parents should place healthy foods within the child's reach so that in the process of self-learning, the child can select the foods he/she wants and eat only the amount he/she wants, and not until he/she eats everything on the table or "until the plate is clean".
• The innate preferences of babies for sweet and after one year of age for salty foods can be modified if they are not offered foods rich in sugar or salty foods. For this purpose, it is recommended to offer natural fruits instead of desserts during main meals and snacks; in addition, do not add too much salt to meals during their preparation and none at the table.
• It is not advisable to use maxims or phrases that emphasize the benefits of certain foods for the development or growth of the child. For example: telling them "if you eat carrots you will catch up with daddy" could cause children to begin to perceive it with a different, less pleasant taste and reject it.

Problems that most frequently interfere with the development of healthy eating behavior

Offering meals while the family and the child are watching TV, cell phone or any type of screen interferes in several ways with the development of healthy eating behavior.

Here are the main negative consequences:

• It alters the feeling of satiety, so the child will not take the amount of food their body needs; this will cause them to sometimes eat less than necessary and others, to continue eating unnecessarily.
• It alters the perception of flavors, aromas and textures of food, preventing children from developing their tastes and preferences for certain foods.
• It impedes communication and development of affective relationships among family