Healthy Eating in Children: Things That Influence Food Choices

Overview

Children may develop poor eating habits for several reasons, including:

Available food choices.

• If candy and soft drinks are available, most children will choose these rather than healthier foods.
• Fast foods and processed foods are widely available. But they usually contain few or no fruits or vegetables, and they often have a lot of salt, sugar, or fat.
• Fast-food restaurants offer large portions that can lead children to eat more than their bodies need.

Food marketing.

Marketing creates a desire for less-than-healthy foods.

• Foods advertised during children's TV shows tend to have very little nutritional value.
• Marketing often targets children through tie-ins between movies, fast-food restaurants, and toys.
• Snack foods are marketed for their fun and taste, not for their nutritional value.

The need for personal choice.

Power struggles between a parent and child can affect eating behavior. If children are pressured to eat a certain food, they are more likely to refuse to eat that food, even if it is something they usually would enjoy.

Emotions.

Sadness, anxiety, or a family crisis can cause a child to undereat or overeat. Trying to resolve the emotional problem may work better than focusing on the eating behavior.