✓ Too much sugar in children's diets: 10 things to know

Already from the first year of life the 90% of Del Paeseni children consume too much sugar. This is the result that emerged from the Nutrintake study, conducted by Prof. Gianvincenzo Zuccotti (Director of the L. Sacco Pediatric Clinic of our city, University of our city) and carried out on a sample of over 400 Del Paeseni children aged 6 to 36 months. .

A wrong eating habit in children's diets can negatively affect their health when they grow up: excessive consumption of sugars can lead to future problems such as obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Fruit juice, fizzy drink, caremellina, snack, chocolate as a reward: how to behave in the right way when it comes to feeding and children? Here are the 10 things to know about sugar in the nutrition of the little ones.

1 - There are many naturally sweet foods

Sugars are essential and already naturally present in many foods. "Our diet already has many naturally sweet foods available that help to satisfy the taste of our children without forcing and predispose to healthy habits"explains Prof. Claudio Maffeis, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Verona.

2 - Too much sugar in babies can be a risk to their future health

"We often tend to excessively sweeten food and to prefer foods rich in sugars; these mistakes, if they become habits in the children's diet, they can adversely affect their future health. In fact, if the child were to acquire a marked preference for sweeter foods, over time he could have a greater risk of obesity and dental caries. and cardiovascular diseases "says pediatrician Gianvincenzo Zuccotti.

3 - There are simple sugars and complex sugars. And they have different purposes

Sugars are of two types: simple, like the classic sucrose spoon, e complex, such as starch in pasta, potatoes and rice. Both are part of the "carbohydrate" category. Simple sugars release immediate energy while complex ones give energy gradually.

4 - Moms add too many simple sugars to foods

"It is above all with simple sugars, added to foods, that we tend to exceed for our children. If we think that in nature there are no immediate-release carbohydrates, we realize how much it can it is advisable to limit the addition of sugar; even fruit, naturally sweet, actually provides a complex of "good" sugars that bring with them other important substances such as fibers, vitamins, minerals, etc ... .. with a nutritional value far superior to that provided by the fructose alone contained in it " explains Prof. Claudio Maffeis.

5 - Sugar does not have to be "the" prize

It is uneducative to give a cake as a reward. In Del Paesene families we are traditionally used to a sweet reward as a reward for correct behavior. Again according to Professor Claudio Maffeis, this apparently harmless action is actually detrimental.

6 - After the year, it is not necessary to adapt the feeding of the child to that family, but vice versa

When the child turns one year of age, there is an increasing habit of offering him his daily food, considering him now a "little adult". In reality it is right to set up healthy eating habits with the arrival of the baby and to eat better everyone. A little less salty, a little less sweet, a little more ... healthy!

7 - Sugar and tooth decay ...

Parents often tend to add sugar to foods in order to make them more palatable to children. There are those who sugar the fruit or those who dip the pacifier in sugar or honey to make the baby accept it. This can have consequences on the teething process of children, on the onset of caries and on the development of taste. (read also: decayed teeth and children)

8 - Read food labels carefully!

Depending on the stage of the child's life, it is better to choose specific products, paying close attention to thelabel and the quantity of sugars present. For example, for baby food, it is better to choose those whose sugars come only from fruit.

9 - No sugar before one year of age

Sugar and honey (but also salt) go banished before the year of the baby. In the first two years they must be severely limited. The damage to health is not seen immediately, but after 20-30 years. Prof. Gianvincenzo Zuccotti argues this in the video "Baby feeding: since when does salt, sugar and honey"

10 - Eating healthy is good for you

We do not underestimate the impact that healthy and good nutrition can have on the future of our children. A correct education to taste will also characterize his habits as an adult. Healthy diet = healthier life.