From SNEB Creating the Perfect Little Eater I worked as a nutrition educator for 11 years before I had my first child. By then I had given lots of talks on child nutrition, and I was ready to create the perfect little eater. Little did I know what was to come. Of course, I planned to breastfeed, and I tried for one week while my daughter and I cried and cried. ‘‘She is not getting enough to eat. You have to start her on formula,’’ demanded my husband. Sadly, I didn't know anyone who could help me persist, so I gave up. I stood my ground when it came to candy, pastries, and sugar-coated cereal. I would not have these foods in the house. My mother-in-law, who
was the kindest woman on earth, bought those 8-packs of small boxes of sugared cereal and kept them in a certain drawer in her apartment. You can guess the first place my daughters went to when we visited her. One time I was grocery shopping with my daughter Jenny and she asked me to buy some kind of fruit taffy. ‘‘It's really good, Mom, and it's made with fruit,’’ she enthused. ‘‘How do you know it tastes good?’’ I asked. ‘‘I trade the fruit Dad always puts in my bag lunch for it,’’ she replied. I talked to my husband and we decided that an occasional addition of chips or cookies to the lunch bag would be okay. Then I had
to face the mother at school who came up to me and said, ‘‘Mirna said Jenny had cookies in her lunch bag today. She wanted to know why Jenny can have cookies and she isn't allowed to. After all, Jenny's mom is a nutritionist/dietitian.’’ I tried to explain my reasoning, but I knew she wasn't buying it. In her opinion, I wasn't a very good nutritionist. Neither of my daughters have children, but I'm waiting. It will be my second chance to create the perfect little eater! Joanne P. Ikeda, MA, RD 2013–2014 President, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
From JNEB The Balancing Act Calories in equal calories out. This is our physiological balancing act. Tilt one way, and we gain weight. Tilt the other, and we lose weight. Our perception of this balancing act, however, is that it is nearly impossible to achieve. We don't have a problem with the calories in part. It is the calories out part that is so very difficult. Several of our articles in this issue address physical activity in some unique ways. Unfortunately, although most parents felt that healthful snacks and time for physical activity were important in out-of-school time programs, only about one third reported that physical activity was available all the time, and only 16.7% said fresh fruit and vegetables were available.1 How do we make what we feel is important to be part of the program? Another group of researchers investigated just this question in child day care centers.
Training and technical assistance helped reduce barriers to increasing physical activity and promoting healthful eating, according to Lyn et al.2 Not having parental engagement was found to be a barrier. However, Trost et al3 actually measured physical activity in another group of children in day care and found low levels of physical activity throughout the day. We know physical activity is important and that we are not achieving our goals in this area. We have good interventions that help with resources and training, but then the project ends. It is a challenge to our researchers and practitioners to address this non-food side of the balancing equation, but I am confident that our collaborative nature will help us step up and step out of our comfort zones to address this important aspect of balance.
Karen Chapman-Novakofski, PhD, RD, LDN Editor-in-Chief
REFERENCES 1. Anzman-Frasca S, Newman MB, Angstrom HM, et al. Parent perspectives on nutrition and physical activity during out-of-school time. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46:156-163. 2. Lyn R, Evers S, Davis J, Maalouf J, Griffin M. Barriers and supports to implementing a nutrition and physical activity intervention in child care: directors’ perspectives. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46:171-180. 3. Trost SG, Rice KR. Physical activity levels among children attending family day care. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46: 197-202.
was the kindest woman on earth, bought those 8-packs of small boxes of sugared cereal and kept them in a certain drawer in her apartment. You can guess the first place my daughters went to when we visited her. One time I was grocery shopping with my daughter Jenny and she asked me to buy some kind of fruit taffy. ‘‘It's really good, Mom, and it's made with fruit,’’ she enthused. ‘‘How do you know it tastes good?’’ I asked. ‘‘I trade the fruit Dad always puts in my bag lunch for it,’’ she replied. I talked to my husband and we decided that an occasional addition of chips or cookies to the lunch bag would be okay. Then I had
to face the mother at school who came up to me and said, ‘‘Mirna said Jenny had cookies in her lunch bag today. She wanted to know why Jenny can have cookies and she isn't allowed to. After all, Jenny's mom is a nutritionist/dietitian.’’ I tried to explain my reasoning, but I knew she wasn't buying it. In her opinion, I wasn't a very good nutritionist. Neither of my daughters have children, but I'm waiting. It will be my second chance to create the perfect little eater! Joanne P. Ikeda, MA, RD 2013–2014 President, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
From JNEB The Balancing Act Calories in equal calories out. This is our physiological balancing act. Tilt one way, and we gain weight. Tilt the other, and we lose weight. Our perception of this balancing act, however, is that it is nearly impossible to achieve. We don't have a problem with the calories in part. It is the calories out part that is so very difficult. Several of our articles in this issue address physical activity in some unique ways. Unfortunately, although most parents felt that healthful snacks and time for physical activity were important in out-of-school time programs, only about one third reported that physical activity was available all the time, and only 16.7% said fresh fruit and vegetables were available.1 How do we make what we feel is important to be part of the program? Another group of researchers investigated just this question in child day care centers.
Training and technical assistance helped reduce barriers to increasing physical activity and promoting healthful eating, according to Lyn et al.2 Not having parental engagement was found to be a barrier. However, Trost et al3 actually measured physical activity in another group of children in day care and found low levels of physical activity throughout the day. We know physical activity is important and that we are not achieving our goals in this area. We have good interventions that help with resources and training, but then the project ends. It is a challenge to our researchers and practitioners to address this non-food side of the balancing equation, but I am confident that our collaborative nature will help us step up and step out of our comfort zones to address this important aspect of balance.
Karen Chapman-Novakofski, PhD, RD, LDN Editor-in-Chief
REFERENCES 1. Anzman-Frasca S, Newman MB, Angstrom HM, et al. Parent perspectives on nutrition and physical activity during out-of-school time. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46:156-163. 2. Lyn R, Evers S, Davis J, Maalouf J, Griffin M. Barriers and supports to implementing a nutrition and physical activity intervention in child care: directors’ perspectives. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46:171-180. 3. Trost SG, Rice KR. Physical activity levels among children attending family day care. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014;46: 197-202.
