WE appear to be in a constant panic over children and their diets. Earlier this month there was widespread shock at the news that school uniforms with 46in waistlines are now being sold to Irish primary-school children. In Britain, health officials called for calories in popular foods to be cut amid concerns children are consuming too much.
Today, 25% of children in Ireland are overweight or obese. What should worried parents do? Should they try to cut back on their children’s calorie intake?
Dietician Sarah Keogh thinks not. “A child’s calorie needs vary so much,” she says. “They may go through a growth spurt or a time when they are doing a lot of exercise, which means they need more calories than at other times. Calorie counting can just make things difficult for parents.”
Official guidelines suggest that school-age children need between 1,600 and 2,500 calories a day, depending on their age, body weight, and activity levels. But instead of focusing on numbers, Orla Walsh, a dietician with the Dublin Nutrition Centre, thinks it might be better to look at the nutritional value of food.
