Adults living with kids consume more fat
Categories: Just For Moms, Just For Dads, Relatives, Eating & Nutrition, Media
I could have told you this ages ago! But, instead of asking me, the The University of Iowa and University of Michigan health system took a look at what people who live with kids eat. The study showed that "adults living with children ate an extra 4.9 grams of fat daily, including 1.7 grams of saturated fat. Adults living with children also were found to be more likely to eat high-fat foods and snacks."The researchers claim that this is most likely to do with what's in the fridge and pantry of the average kid household. Snacks, convenience foods, and foods that are marketed to kids, like hot dogs, mac and cheese, and pizza, are generally high in fat. Even though we know it's junk, it's hard to resist that stuff when it's around. Raise your hand if you ever finish off the rest of the mac and cheese or have the last slice of pizza, even when you think it's revolting. (Or, maybe that's just me?)
I do try, though, to keep healthier stuff around. These days my kids are happily snacking on tangerines, raw nuts in the shell (why is it so fun to use the nutcracker? it just is, I suppose) and red bell peppers. What good-for-everyone snacks do you recommend?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ann adams 12-29-2006 @ 7:16PM
Christmas week is a total loss of course but when they're on a regular schedule we always have fresh fruit and veggies around. For some reason, they all love raw broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower along with the ordinary stuff like carrots and celery.
We have dates and raisins, apples and bananas.
I'm not a purist by any means but on average they eat much more healthy food than junk.
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Autumn 1-01-2007 @ 5:44AM
We like to snack on hummus and homemade pita chips.
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mamaloo, the doula 12-29-2006 @ 10:44PM
Well, we usually have both mac and cheese and pizza once a week each, but I make mine from scratch, meaning both are loaded with vegetables and real cheese (which, though it's high in fat, at least has calcium and other decent nutrients in it).
For the most part, we eat like my parent's generation did: real food, nothing from a box or bag.
Aside from my son's reluctance to eat more veg, I eat worse than he does, with my late night "mommy snacks" and "mommy drinks" (Snack Mix and Pepsi - eek!)
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Maria P. 12-30-2006 @ 1:31PM
This used to be the case in our house and I used the excuse that it was the only stuff our kids would eat because they really don't like the fancy health food I love to cook.
Then I start making an effort to find healthy and or organic alternatives for everything, I've opened a new doors. I've been able to introduce a lot of new foods this way.
It is more expensive and takes some thoughtful planning but we all feel much better for it. :)
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Nancy Toby 12-30-2006 @ 7:30AM
44 calories per day? I'm pretty sure I expend that much extra chasing after the kids.
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Stephanie 12-30-2006 @ 12:39PM
We buy 4 lb. bags of frozen berries at Costco. They're about $10, so when you figure it out the berries cost less than those little packaged fruit snacks.
My son's (22 months old) favorite snack right now is one he invented himself: peanut butter on string cheese. He doesn't talk yet, but one day took me to the fridge for string cheese then ran over to where we keep the peanut butter and grunted and pointed until I understood what he wanted.
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Ginny 12-30-2006 @ 1:04PM
"Raise your hand if you ever finish off the rest of the mac and cheese or have the last slice of pizza, even when you think it's revolting. (Or, maybe that's just me?)"
Raising my hand here. It's a shame to see that stuff thrown away. I have been known to finish my kids' lunches rather than throw them away. I'm sure that's not good for the weight.
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punkgirl 12-30-2006 @ 3:50PM
My number one recommendation for a healthy snack is clementines. They can be a little expensive, but they're just amazing. They're really easy to peel, so my toddler can do it herself, and they're seedless, so I don't have to spend time picking out seeds like I do with regular oranges. My daughter will take them over cookies any day. I also find that when I have them around, I tend to eat them over chips and other unhealthy snacks that I'd usually go for.
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