Healthy Snacks for Healthy Kids

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Healthy Snacks for Healthy Kids

• Lora Heatwole and Jody Alvarez
• Health and Physical Activity Institute
• James Madison University
• July 21, 2008

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Children have different needs...

• Sweat at a lower rate
• Tolerate temperature extremes less efficiently
• Get hotter during exercise
• Have more skin surface for their body weight
  (that results in excessive heat gain in extreme
  heat and heat loss in extreme cold)
• Have hearts that pump less blood
• Adjust more slowly to exercising in the heat a
  child may require five or six sessions to achieve
  the same degree of acclimatization acquired by an
  adult in two or three sessions in the same
  environment).

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Individuals have different needs...

• Age
• Weight
• Climate
• Exercise intensity and duration
• Hydration before exercise begins

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General Guidelines for Children

• Children should drink before, during, and after
  activity
• Children should be reminded to drink 5-9 ounces
  every 20 minutes (depending on weight teenagers
  should drink more) during activity
• Young children should have a water bottle with
  marks showing how much they should drink

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Questions to Consider...

• What is Activity?
• Drink what?

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Activity

• Activity from Merriam - Webster
• 1) the state of being active
• 2) vigorous or energetic action

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Activity

• How much time do your students spend being truly
  active?
• John Crawley, a researcher from Cornell released
  a study stating that high school gym students
  spend an average of 16 minutes being active
  during gym class.
• How does this differ from other grade levels?

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What Not to Drink

• Vitamin water, fitness water, or enhanced water
  can add extra calories, artificial sweeteners,
  caffeine, or herbal ingredients
• There are few studies on the effects of herbal
  products and children

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What Not to Drink

• Energy drinks may be the cool thing for middle
  and high school students/athletes
• Are high in caffeine which can lead to
  jitteriness, headaches, and frequent urination
• Are high in sugar which can lead to weight gain
  and dental problems
• May have other ingredients such as herbal
  supplements and amino acids that may have unknown
  effects

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What Not to Drink

• Fruit drinks and juices may contain added sugar
  and be so processed that they are left with very
  little nutrition
• Can lead to dental problems and weight gain
• High amounts of fructose may cause an upset
  stomach

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What Not to Drink

• Soda is not recommended due to the high amounts
  of sugar and caffeine
• Carbonated beverages may cause an upset stomach
• High amounts of sugar can lead to weight gain
• Caffeine acts as a diuretic and may cause
  dehydration instead of preventing it

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What to Drink

• Water is the best way for children to replace
  lost fluids following activity lasting less than
  90 minutes
• Does not contain any sugar that will cause a rise
  in blood sugar or weight gain over time
• Children get plenty of electrolytes from the food
  they eat

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What to Drink

• Sports drinks may be beneficial for activity
  lasting more than 60-90 minutes
• If a sports drink is used for rehydration, choose
  one with 4-8 carbohydrate higher loads of
  sugar can cause an upset stomach and slow the
  absorption of fluid

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What to Drink

• To determine the percentage of
• carbohydrate in a sports drink
• ( of gm of CHO X 100) / total ml
  carbohydrate
• Example 1 cup regular cola has 27 grams
  carbohydrate
• 27 X 100 2700
• 2700/240 ml 11.25 CHO

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Fluid Replacement

• Water
• No added extras which may have a negative
  effect on the child
• Child may drink less due to lack of flavor
• Readily available
• Free

• Sports Drinks
• Has electrolytes which may be beneficial in
  exercise lasting more than 60-90 minutes
• Has flavor which encourages child to drink more
• One 20 oz. sports drink per day can lead to a 13
  lb weight gain in a years time

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Fluid Replacement

• There is some evidence that unless children are
  exercising in extreme conditions or longer than
  5-6 hours, the amount of electrolytes lost is not
  significant and does not need to be replaced by a
  sports drink.

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General Guidelines
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Snacks to Hydrate

• Foods with a high water content include fresh
  fruits and vegetables, milk, yogurt, and soups
• Fruit also contains fructose which may cause an
  upset stomach when playing sports
• A salty snack such as celery or cheese may
  increase a childs thirst and fluid intake

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Snacks to Hydrate

• Fruit Kabobs
• Celery or Apples with Peanut butter
• Cucumber sticks in vanilla yogurt
• Cherry tomatoes
• Soup

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Wellness Programs

• Price it out for them
• Childhood obesity is partly our responsibility

• Promote healthy items in vending machines
• Promote healthy foods and increase nutritional
  knowledge among students

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Performance Bars

• Cereal Bars
• Diet Bars
• Protein Bars
• Energy Bars

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What to look for in a QUALITY Product

• Consider activity level
• Type and amount of fat
• Complex vs. Refined Carbohydrates
• More than 2.5g of Fiber

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Lets Look at a Label

• Hint
• Common among athletes
• Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps are among some
  of the spokesmen

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And the winner is
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Guess the Label

• Hint
• Brand also makes cereals
• All natural

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One More

• Hint
• Promoted by Worlds Strongest Man assoc.

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References

• Atkins, V. et al. Frequently Asked Questions
  About Sports Drinks. Center for Weight and
  Health, UC Berkley. Retrieved July 16, 2008,
  from http//www.cnr.berkeley.edu/cwh/PDFs/CWH_Spo
  rts_Drinks_FA Q_Sheet_7.07.pdf
• Gavin,M. (2008,April). Power Drinks Should Your
  Child Drink Them? Kids Health For Parents.
  Retrieved July 16, 2008, from http//kidshealth.or
  g/parent/food/general/power_drinks.html
• Texas Cooperative Extension. (2004,November). The
  Importance of Hydration During Physical
  Activity. Retrieved July 16, 2008, from
  http//fcs.tamu.edu/food_and_nutrition/nutrifacts
  /issue6.pdf
• www.powerbar.com
• www.kashi.com
• www.met-rx.com
• www.kidshealth.org_cerealbars Kids and On-the-Go
  Nutrition Mary L Gavin MD April 2008