In the U.S., roughly 20% of kids age 12 to 19 are obese, and the issues that stem from weight gain can become a lifelong struggle. While “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” may feel trite, acquiring healthy eating habits from a young age is essential to lifelong wellness. Here’s what family care physicians suggest for healthy living from infancy to adulthood.

A Guide to Healthy Habits at a Young Age

1. Infancy

In the dawn of their life, babies need the nutrients necessary to grow healthy and strong. Family care physicians recommend that, if possible, mothers should breastfeed their baby for six months. After that, parents can begin integrating solid foods like pureed veggies and infant cereals. Once the nine-month mark arrives, they can incorporate finger foods like small pieces of grilled chicken and cooked carrots.

To give children a healthy start, parents should limit their drinks to breast milk, formula, or water. Sugary drinks like juice or soda will add excess calories and sugar to their diet unnecessarily. Plus, sugar in a baby’s bottle can cause early tooth decay and oral health problems.

2. Early Childhood

For toddlers, their appetite comes and goes depending on the day. They’ll inevitably go through a picky eater phase, which requires a bit of patience when parents want them to eat their greens. To curb a strictly dino-nugget diet, parents should invest in their child’s health by having plenty of healthy options on hand. String cheese, cut-up fruit like sliced apples, baby carrots, and peanut butter are all heavy hitters at this age for healthy snacks.

When a kid decides they don’t like a food, parents should keep trying with that broccoli or the like at least a dozen times before drawing that conclusion. Familiarity and anticipation will work in their favor if parents remain consistent about enforcing healthy options at the dinner table.

That isn’t to say that children won’t have a say in their diet. With healthy choices, letting a toddler choose between two options can make them feel like they’ve had control over their dietary choices. Giving them that tiny semblance of power gives them the nutrition they need while allowing toddlers the independence they often want.

3. Grade School

As kids progress to elementary school, it’s more challenging for parents to have a tight grip on their diet. In the cafeteria, there are less healthy but more enticing choices like chocolate milk or hot lunch pizza that kids will gravitate towards instead of healthier alternatives.

To curb this temptation, family care physicians typically suggest that parents should pack their child’s lunch as much as possible. If they have access to the hot-lunch menu beforehand, families can discuss what options their kids will love and that parents will feel comfortable with them eating.

Outside of school, planning ahead for meals on days filled with extracurriculars helps bolster a balanced diet. That often means not settling for fast food on the way to sports practice; instead, a portable yet healthy dinner—like a grilled chicken pita pocket—can act as dinner on the go.  

Overall, the goal of a parent’s influence on their child’s diet is to teach them to make healthy decisions as they get older. Setting that standard requires mom and dad to lead by example with their own diets, allowing kids to see that this is a lifelong choice. Families should also promote balance in healthy eating—helping children understand, for example, that cookies are a treat, not a full meal.

4. Teens & Early Twenties

For teens and early adults, finding that dietary balance within a newfound sense of independence takes some trial and error. For teens going off to college, in particular, they can initially capitalize on that freedom by making reckless dietary choices, like eating an entire pizza during a study session or getting a side of fries every meal in the dining hall just because they can. Plus, a fast metabolism and walking-heavy college bubble will allow them to do that without seeing many serious repercussions short term.

This mindset, however, will prove to set them up for problems later in life. A study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that long-term poor eating habits will result in health issues, particularly with mobility, heart health, and likelihood of type 2 diabetes. Fruit and veggie-heavy diets with lean protein included had the most positive effect, while those heavy in sugary beverages, trans fats, and sodium had negative results.

While healthy eating feels like a burden with a busy schedule, teens and adults have more opportunities than ever to engage in their wellness journey. Whether it’s meal-prepping on weekends, investing in pre-planned meal kit services, or just having an array of healthy snacks in the fridge at all times, young adults need to draw from positive childhood eating habits to care for themselves.

For those at any age struggling with healthy habits, they can seek the help of a family care physician to guide their wellness journey. Whether it’s weight loss tips or general dietary guidelines to make a patient feel healthy and energized, the team at Urgent & Primary Care will always act as a valuable resource for lifelong wellness. For more information about this father-daughter duo of primary care doctors based in Albany, NY, give them a call at (518) 470-3458 or visit their website today.