As a pediatric nutritionist in a clinic that serves children with special needs, I see all kinds of family situations and all kinds of caregivers. Usually, the primary caregiver is a parent. But for a variety of reasons, the primary caregiver may be a relative who cares for the child during much of the day or even has full legal custody of the child.
The latter can happen if both parents …
Nutrition tips for custodial grandparents
I direct a nutrition clinic in a large center for children with special needs. My kids can have everything from mild learning disabilities to genetic disorders that affect growth and development to profound intellectual and physical impairments that cause them to be unable to walk, speak or even scratch their heads. My most seriously involved kids are completely dependent for all their care.
Children who are somewhere in between — for example, children who …
Treating obesity in the physically-challenged child
In my pediatric nutrition practice, I often preach about getting more fruits and vegetables into the diets of the children I see. Eating more vegetables is a proven way to fight obesity and promote better health.
Sometimes the question of where and how to find healthy food comes up during my conversations with parents. Many of my clients reside in the Bronx, where sometimes the closest vegetable is the pickle on …
The dilemma of eating locally-sourced foods
With the Mediterranean diet all the rage, not only because consumers like its tasty composition but because of research touting its health benefits, experts have had to become more specific about recommendations for fats.
There’s a steady drumbeat these days — from everyone from chefs to food writers to health gurus — criticizing nutritionists and the “diet police,” who, they claim, …
A dose of reality on the dietary fat issue
In the first recent piece of good news about the child obesity epidemic, the latest statistics on preschoolers — those 2- to 5-year-old bundles of joy whom we worry about so much — suggest that they’re less obese than they used to be.
Between 2003/2004 and 2011/2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there was a huge drop in the …
A reduction in child obesity should be interpreted with caution
Eating takes a lot of work. That “food coma” many lapse into after the big Thanksgiving meal is largely due not to the turkey, but to overeating. The caloric onslaught unleashes a cascade that sends a rush of blood to the gastrointestinal tract to help us digest, leaving less blood circulating elsewhere.
It’s estimated that up to 10 percent of our calories go …
The conversation parents dread even more than the one about the birds and the bees? It’s the one about their kids’ weight.
Sure, the facts-of-life talk is awkward and needs to be age-appropriate and you want your facts straight, but it’s different when you’re talking to your kids about what they weigh. Your children never view such talks as positive, only as being about what’s “wrong” with them. But you can have this …
How to talk to your child about obesity
Most of us know schools as institutions of learning, usually associated with “the three Rs,” but now schools in 19 states are reporting progress on another subject: “BMI” — body mass index.
These schools are measuring the heights and weights of students to determine BMI, a measure of weight based on height, then sending home letters to inform parents of their children’s BMI status. As a pediatric nutritionist, I am not pleased.
Child obesity …
Why schools shouldn’t report obesity
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