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Nutritionists and eating disorder specialists say they're seeing an increasing number of children who are terrified of "bad" foods, whether that means non-organics, trans fats, or just regular old sugar, to such an extent that it disrupts their daily lives. "We're seeing a lot of anxiety in these kids," says Cynthia Bulik, director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "They go to birthday parties, and if it's not a granola cake they feel like they can't eat it"
Some say that "orthorexia," as one specialist has dubbed the extreme obsession with healthy eating, is a pathway to anorexia and other eating disorders. They say the problem is in rigidly categorizing foods as "good" or "bad" instead of talking about moderation - children often take moral categories very, very seriously. Of course kids shouldn't be downing liters of Coke, but nor should they be paralyzed by guilt over eating a "bad" Oreo or forced to binge on potato chips in private because eating fatty foods is "naughty."
I had two friends growing up whose parents wouldn't let them eat refined sugar and who never had anything in the pantry tastier than whole wheat crackers. When they'd come to play at my house they'd plunder our kitchen cabinets for chocolate and cookies, which they would sneak home in plastic bags to eat under the covers at night. I can't help but think that being allowed a small dish of ice cream after dinner at their own houses might have taught them better eating habits.
How did your parents teach you healthy eating habits (or not)? How do you try to encourage your own kids to eat right?
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2-27-2009 @11:27AM Dennis Dilday said... It shouldn't be a surprise that obsessive parents generate neurotic children. And it shouldn't be a surprise that some parents end up overdoing it in their efforts to deal with the forces at work to turn their children into junk food zombies.
Given a choice between an anxious child who ridiculously screens their food intake for nutritious content, verses a sick, hyper, status quo kid on their way to jail or the prescription pad, I would take the former. The neurotic child raised on health food will be able to address their "issues" when they are ready. The status quo kid will follow the masses into the oblivion of a sucker managed by mass media marketers.
On the surface, of course, it sounds like a reasonable conversation to talk about the "problem" of obsessive parenting as it relates to their child's diet. But does it really contribute to any kind of solution to what is an epidemic in childhood obesity or the health care crisis these children will be contributing to later in life. Or does it add confusion and chaos to an already artificially complex issue and lend false credibility to the sense of "controversy" on the subject. And if it does that, who benefits? The kids? No. The parents? No. Society? No. The status quo? You decide.
Dennis Dilday, D.C.
http://doctordilday.com
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2-27-2009 @1:36PM anne said... It's just like any other parenting issue. Take alcohol -- kids in this country are raised to think alcohol is evil and should never be drunk by anyone, especially kids, and look what they do -- binge drink in high school and college. Teach them everything in moderation and teach them by example and they'll be fine.
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2-27-2009 @3:24PM Megan said... I don't have kids yet. But I hope to teach them that sweets and such are "sometimes foods" and okay in moderation, not "very, very bad" and forbidden.
"The neurotic child raised on health food will be able to address their "issues" when they are ready."
But why make the kid have issues in the first place ? Kids need to be given that information gradually, at an age appropriate level. There's no sense in overwhelimg, say, a 5 year old with the idea that their heart will stop if they eat fries.
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2-27-2009 @6:22PM Rt said... Wow Denny, heard any good conspiracy theories lately?
As for me, we ate what was served and mother served what she could afford. Raising a family of four in the '50s had to be a rockin' good time :)
For the record - we're all screwed up but we love each other anyway.
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2-27-2009 @6:26PM Rt said... HA, the comment just came thru - 2 hrs later.
I realize I was not clear with the "family of four".
That's four kids - I didn't include the parents in the count.
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2-27-2009 @6:34PM Alex said... Dennis - cupcakes lead to jail? No wonder our prison system is so over crowded. Silly me, I thought crime led to jail. Clearly I have much to learn. I think the idea is to produce children that are neither neurotic nor hoodlums. But I guess the nuerotic kids grow up to be more profitable for you - the more paranoid someone is, they more likely they are to buy the supplements and other products on your website.
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2-28-2009 @12:16AM Eric Howe said... Alex, the hoodlums are quite profitable too, just ask any of the prison guard unions or privately run prisons in US (this is a bit off topic 'round here unless someone wants to start talking about confinement loaf and prison food).
There is far too much fear and paranoia these days, hopefully the Free Range Kids movement will help.
http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/
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3-02-2009 @9:05PM jonthegm said... As a brother who has lost a sister to bulimia/anorexia and has another sister struggling to survive against the same, I'm not sure I agree with Dilday.
I think the estimated 300k premature deaths due to obesity is less of a concern than the estimated 400k deaths due to disordered eating. This is without even considering the impact on the mental health of those who surround them.
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3-03-2009 @11:42AM Stephanie said... I think the real point is that it is unhealthy to have an unhealthy relationship with food. That holds whether you are neurotic about everything you put in your mouth, or, on the other side, have your diet consist of a bunch of junk. I think the thing we, as parents, should be doing is instilling in our children a healthy relationship with food, which avoids either extreme. Call me crazy if you want.
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3-03-2009 @11:36PM Mary said... Stephanie,
You aren't crazy. You are right!
The problem I see is my kids are being teased by their peer group if they have "wierd food" (aka healthy food) such as jicama in their lunch box. Even if they have a Girl Scout cookie in that same lunchbox, they still get grief from their peers.
There are days when I feel I am teaching my kids diplomacy lessons along with reasonable eating skills. Maybe someday they will be able to negotiate worldwide acceptance of all misunderstood vegetables. Or at least survive the school lunchroom for another week.
http://www.healthy-diet-mom.com
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3-10-2009 @9:19PM Jamie Amir said... Some facts:
This is a ridiculous idea. Here are some startling facts:
Currently,18.2 million Americans have diabetes,and nearly one-third are unaware that they have the disease.
More than 64% of the U.S. adult population is overweight or obese.
Heart disease and stroke account for more than 40% of all deaths each year.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than half a million people each year.
So should our kids be paranoid about what they eat? Absolutely!
Unless you want your kids to join the statistics and suffer from chronic disease, I would ignore such rubbish as what was mentioned above and start reading stuff like this:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16671-lifestyle-changes-could-cut-cancers-by-a-third.html
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3-10-2009 @9:26PM Jamie Amir said... The sad fact is, sugar is an addictive drug. The reason that kids who are kept away from sugar go crazy when they get to it is because refined sugar stimulates pleasure centers in our brains, the same ones that are stimulated when you do cocaine or crack (Med Hypotheses. 2009 May;72(5):518-26. Epub 2009 Feb 14. Refined food addiction: A classic substance use disorder).
Related neurochemical changes commonly observed with drugs of abuse, including changes in dopamine and acetylcholine release in the nucleus accumbens, can also be found with bingeing on sugar (Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Oct;15(5):481-91. Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence).
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