Kids health

Healthy eating for kids

Infants and young children

• Infants should be breastfed exclusively during the first 6 months of life.
• From 6 months of age, milk should be complemented  with a variety of adequate, safe and nutrient dense complementary foods. Salt and sugars should not be added to complementary foods.

Practical advice on how to maintain a healthy diet

Fruit and vegetables

Eating at least 400 g, or 5 portions, of fruit and vegetables per day reduces the risk of NCD (non-communicable diseases), and helps ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre.

In order to improve fruit and vegetable consumption you can:

• always include vegetables in your meals
• eat fresh fruit and raw vegetables as snacks
• eat fresh fruit and vegetables in season
• eat a variety of choices of fruits and vegetables.

• Delay introducing 100 percent juice until at least 6 months of age and limit to no more than 4–6 oz/day. Juice should only be fed from a cup.
   
• Don't overfeed infants and young children — they can usually self-regulate the amount of calories they need each day. Children shouldn't be forced to finish meals if they aren't hungry as they often vary caloric intake from meal to meal.
   
• Introduce healthy foods and keep offering them if they're initially refused. Don't introduce foods without overall nutritional value simply to provide calories.

• Energy (calories) should be adequate to support growth and development and to reach or maintain desirable body weight.
   
• Eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.
   
• Keep total fat intake between 30 to 35 percent of calories for children 2 to 3 years of age and between 25 to 35 percent of calories for children and adolescents 4 to 18 years of age, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.
   
• Choose a variety of foods to get enough carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients.
   
• Eat only enough calories to maintain a healthy weight for your height and build. Kids should be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.
   
• Serve whole-grain/high-fiber breads and cereals rather than refined grain products. Look for “whole grain” as the first ingredient on the food label and make at least half your grain servings whole grain. Recommended grain intake ranges from 2 oz./day for a one-year-old to 7 oz./day for a 14–18-year-old boy.
   
• Serve a variety of fruits and vegetables daily, while limiting juice intake. Each meal should contain at least 1 fruit or vegetable. Children’s recommended fruit intake ranges from 1 cup/day, between ages 1 and 3, to 2 cups for a 14–18-year-old boy. Recommended vegetable intake ranges from ¾ cup a day at age one to 3 cups for a 14–18-year-old boy.
   
• Introduce and regularly serve fish as an entrée. Avoid commercially fried fish.
   
• Serve fat-free and low-fat dairy foods. From ages 1–8, children need 2 cups of milk or its equivalent each day. Children ages 9–18 need 3 cups.
   
• Don’t overfeed. Estimated calories needed by children range from 900/day for a 1-year-old to 1,800 for a 14–18-year-old girl and 2,200 for a 14–18-year-old boy.

This eating pattern supports a child's normal growth and development. It provides enough total energy and meets or exceeds the recommended daily allowances for all nutrients for children and adolescents, including iron and calcium.

Recommended daily intake of calories, fats, saturated fats, sugar and salt

Toddlers:

Children under age 2 should avoid consuming a fat-restricted, or low-fat, diet because fat is important for cognitive development

2-3 years

Calories: 1,300 Cals

Fats: 45g

Saturated fat: less than 14g

Sugar : 16g (4 teaspoons)

Salt:   2.5g (1-3 year olds)

4-8 years

Calories: 1,600

Fats: 50g

Saturated fats

Sugar 12g (3 teaspoons) 

Salts   3.5g (4-18 year olds)