Those colorful and attractive packaging of junk foods combined with its flavorful content makes it hard for children to resist the urge to eat junk foods. It really could be very addictive.
Most junk foods nowadays claim that it contains vitamins and antioxidants as printed on their labels but the amounts are negligible compared to fruits and vegetables.Many times have I seen parents ask their children what they want to eat. The children automatically scans the junk foods area of the store and point their favorites. Parents who are concerned with their kids' nutrition says discouraging remarks and suggests other foods that are best for them. The children frown of course. Others insist and others obey but with disgust in their hearts.
Junks foods are a regular snack for most children and concerned parents find it hard to encourage them to eat nutritious substitutes for their hunger. Often times, the intake of these snack foods are large enough that their stomach are still full when the regular meal comes.
Some parents though are happy to treat their children with these junk foods not knowing that the effects for the poor nutrition will be evident only in later years. One effect for improper nutrition which has been observed is macular degeneration which could possibly lead to blindness. We don't want our children to lose their eyesight when they get older, do we?
Another ill effect is getting overweight. This has been observed in India where overweight children are growing at an alarming rate. The government of India has responded to this by giving guidelines to both public and private schools for the proper nutrition of children. They are also extending the guidelines to the parents of the schoolchildren as well. The schools were also requested to ban junk foods in their cafeteria..
If children can be taught on proper nutrition, the more productive their life can be. Eating fruits and vegetables must be encouraged because it contains natural nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants to keep them in top shape. It's up to the parents and the schools to find ways of getting the idea into the minds of the children.
How about you? Do you have any ideas or ways that can make the children turn away from junk foods? If you have, you can share them and post them here as comments.
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