Healthy eating for children: overcoming barriers to unhealthy diets

We all want our children to eat healthily but the reality is that there are often multiple barriers to implementing this such as a lack of understanding around healthy eating for children, time constraints, the appeal of unhealthy foods and cost. For instance, a survey carried out this year found that children across Britain are suffering worsening levels of tooth decay, anxiety and stunted growth as the cost of food has risen.1,2

The survey, which was conducted among school nurses from the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA) and members of the British Dental Association (BDA) revealed that 65% of the respondents noticed a deterioration in children’s health and wellbeing, which was attributed to the worsening of living standards over the past year.

In addition, the 2023 Broken Plate report by the Food Foundation demonstrates how difficult it is for children to eat healthily and sustainably when the affordability, availability and appeal of unhealthy and unsustainable foods point us in the opposite direction.3 

This is worrying as suboptimal nutrition during the critical development period of childhood can have lifelong implications affecting dental health, growth and development, mental health, weight, and a healthy life expectancy. So faced with many barriers, how can we as parents ensure our children are eating healthily? In this week’s blog we explore the factors at play when it comes to our children’s diet and offer some nutrition and lifestyle recommendations.

Understanding what constitutes a healthy diet for children

Many of us struggle to give our children a healthy diet, despite it being predominantly under our control. A lack of understanding as to what constitutes a nutritious diet can often prohibit us from implementing a good diet despite good intentions. It is therefore recommended to apply some basic principles: 

Nutrient-dense diet

Children need a nutrient dense diet to support growth, development, learning and their immunity, although the food consumed by the majority of children in the UK does not currently meet requirements for a nutritious diet.1

Most adults and children consume in excess of the maximum recommended intakes for sugar, saturated fat and salt, and do not meet recommendations for fruit and vegetables, fibre or oily fish consumption.1

These recommendations include at least 5 portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. For fibre, as a minimum, 2- to 5-year-olds need about 15g of fibre a day, 5- to 11-year-olds need about 20g and 11- to 16-year-olds need about 25g.

The NHS recommends giving your child at least 1 portion of oily fish (such as mackerel, salmon and sardines) a week.

What is consistent among all of the most evidence-based ways of eating is a diet which is high in fibre from vegetables, fruit and wholegrains and includes healthy fats (such as avocado, olive oil, flax and chia seeds, oily fish) and lean protein.

This should therefore be the focus when planning a food shop. For children who do not like fish, follow a vegan diet, or if there are concerns over pollution or sustainability then an omega 3 supplement for children can help.

Furthermore, for those whose diets are low in fruits and vegetables, a good quality multivitamin and mineral formulated specifically for children can help to safeguard against any nutritional shortfalls.

Minimise or cut out processed foods

Conversely – processed foods (especially ultra-processed foods) are usually devoid of nutrients and often contain ingredients that promote inflammation and poor health.

Highly processed foods can also deplete nutrients, meaning they take out of the body more than they put in!

Ultra-processed foods often contain high levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar. It’s also suggested that the additives in some of these foods may be responsible for negative health effects in children.

Examples of common processed foods include most breakfast cereals, microwave or ready meals, cakes and biscuits, ham, ice-cream and savoury snacks. Switching from these types of foods to wholefoods is recommended. 

Anti-inflammatory diet

In our modern world, there is an abundance of diet and lifestyle factors that can generate inflammation such as processed food, food sensitivities, chronic stress, and toxic exposures. These factors can lead to low grade and persistent inflammation. Over time ongoing inflammation can damage cells and tissues and have a negative effect on health; it is often at the root of countless health problems.

An anti-inflammatory diet follows the same principles as a nutrient dense diet – omitting processed foods and including a colourful and diverse range of whole foods, including plenty of fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and pulses.

Healthy fats can help to dampen down inflammation and fruits and vegetables contain an array of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, which can also help to protect our children against inflammation. 

Cut the sugar

British children now consume 25 times more confectionery and 30 times more soft drinks than they did in 19501 and on average, children in the UK consume at least double the recommended amount of sugar.2

This contributes to two of the major health issues facing children here in the UK: an unhealthy weight and tooth decay.6 In fact, almost a quarter of 5-year-olds have dental decay.3

Dental conditions can impact on children’s ability to eat, talk, play and learn, as well as their self-esteem and quality of life.4 Other impacts include pain, infections, poor diet and impaired nutrition and growth. A recent report revealed the majority of retailers are not actively assessing the volume of sugar they sell, let alone reducing it.3,5 

Aside from often having detrimental effects on children’s behaviour, mood and concentration, sugar can also impact on their immune system.

Refined sugar has been shown to decrease the performance of white blood cells and increase inflammation. Phagocytes are immune cells that help to protect the body by engulfing bacteria and viruses and destroying them; research has shown that sugar can decrease phagocytic capabilities. Sugar can also lead to weight gain and obesity, which can create a chronic state of low-grade inflammation, further negatively impacting on the immune system over time.

Sugar also feeds the bad bacteria in the gut, giving rise to inflammation and immune dysfunction. Including a high-quality probiotic for children can help to support a healthy-balanced microbiome.

Most processed foods will contain high amounts of hidden sugars so try to be mindful of this and focus on a wholefood anti-inflammatory diet (as mentioned).