Young Kids & Diet blurb - upcoming study

[Kaiser]

further to my post regarding kids and exercise: http://forums.jpfitness.com/cgi-bin/...;f=14;t=000045

Bad Diets Begin in Babyhood

Wonder why so many American kids are overweight? It's no mystery: starting from babyhood they consume about 30 percent more calories per day than they need. Worse, many of those calories come from French fries, sweets, pizza and soft drinks. Results of a new study, commissioned by Gerber Products Co., the baby-food makers, and presented at the American Dietetics Association's October 2003 meeting also showed that up to one third of children under two years of age eat no fruit or vegetables. More than 60 percent of 1 year olds eat dessert or candy daily, and 30 to 40 percent of children age 15 months or older had a sugary fruit drink daily - of those, about 10 percent had soda.

Many parents are also ignoring widely accepted practices by feeding infants solid food before they are four months old, juice before six months of age, or cow's milk before 12 months. The complete study results will be published in the January 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

-Dr Andrew Weil