Is Your Kid Getting Fat From Drinking Juice?

If your kid is getting fat it might be what he is drinking. One of the first steps to losing weight no matter how old you are is to try and figure out where extra calories are coming from. Many parents would be surprised to learn that their kid is getting an extra 500 – 1000 calories a day by drinking fruit drinks, milk and soda. If your child is under five then this means that what they take in as fluids could equal half of the calories they need to intake in a day. 

Not sure which beverage is the culprit? It is time to keep a food diary and record of the calories consumed.  I was shocked to find out that milk or juice could be the culprit.

Like you I was raised to believe these beverages were health and nourishing but not fattening. For instance when it comes to your child's milk intake The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that —  Children who are one to three years of age  get about 2 servings of milk (low fat milk after age 2 years) a day.Children who are three to seven ears old get about 3 servings of low fat milk Kids who are eight to eighteen years old get about 4 servings of low fat milk  

As far as juice goes, the American Academy of Pediatrics  has even more severer recommendations – Infants should not have any fruit juice because it is too much sugarBe sure the juice that you give your kid is 100% pasteurized and not from concentrate or a fruit drinkYounger children aged 1 to 6 years should have only 4-6 ounces of juice a day.

Older children should be limited to 8-12 ounces of juice a day Diluting your kid's juice with water is  also a good idea.

So if juice is off limits how does your fatter kid get his or vitamins? The answer is supplementation or to encourage your kids to eat whole fruits. If your child gets dehydrated or thirsty the best thing to do is give him or her water.

Gatorade however is not a bad choice if your kid is dehydrated or overheated. The idea is to get your four-year-old child to drink only three servings of 2% milk and six ounces of 100% fruit juice. This equals about 460 calories which is reasonable. If you want to make a four year old kid fat try giving him or her three servings of chocolate milk at 720 calories each, two juice servings at 200 calories each and one can of soda at 150 calories.  This is 1070 calories which is twice what he or she should have and even worse the kid is getting 50% of all the calories that he or she needs. 

Keep in mind these liquid calories are in addition to all of the other things a kid can eat in a day!  Now wonder it is so easy for our kids to get way too fat and no wonder childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic.

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Do Your Kids Need Vitamins?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics kids don't need extra vitamins. If you are feeding your little one a diet based on the Food Guide Pyramid then they should be getting all of the food that they need. 

However sometimes you end up with a kid who is a picky eater (such as my little boy who won't eat anything but tomato soup and bananas) and supplementation is necessary.  Some kids will stick to eating just one or two foods for months or even years so it is necessary to make sure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they need. Also if you are a vegetarian and raising your child to be one you don't have a diet that meets all of your child's nutritional needs as your child may be lacking in B12 or iron. Babies that are breastfed only may also need 200 IU of Vitamin D each day as breast milk is not fortified with Vitamin D. This is especially crucial if you live in a climate where there is not a lot of sun or if your child is confined to the indoors because of an illness.  

Older children who don’t drink at least 500ml (about 17 ounces) of Vitamin D fortified milk will also need Vitamin D supplements if they don’t get regular sunlight exposure.  Iron is very important to prevent anemia. Those most at risk of iron deficiency are infants who are not given extra iron after six months of age (usually in the form of an iron fortified infant cereal), and babies who drink low-iron formula, cow’s milk or goats milk. Good sources or iron include meats, fish, legumes, and fortified foods, such as breads and cereals.

Adolescent girls are also at risk of anemia once they begin having their periods so make sure your daughter is getting enough folic acid and iron. Your child also can't grow healthy bones with out calcium. It is an essential mineral that is necessary for healthy teeth and bones.

Kids who drink enough milk and eat enough yogurt, cheese and ice cream are never calcium deficient. Calcium supplements are poorly absorbed by children so you need to give them orange or grapefruit juice that is fortified with calcium.  Look for a juice that his high in calcium as many of them only have 20% of a daily value added.  You can also get chewable candies with calcium in them like Calcium gummy bears or Herbasaurs Calcium for Kids. Multivitamins for infants are available as drops and usually contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D. They may also have iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin E.  Good brands are Poly-Vi-Sol Drops, Gerber Vitamin Drops and Tri-Vi-Sol Drops.   

Keep in mind that many ‘complete’ multivitamins do not have all of the recommended amounts of the vitamins and minerals that your child needs each day and most don’t have enough calcium so you might have to look at supplementing your supplements depending on what brands are available. 

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