Parents are advised to give children water in addition to their usual milk from about 6 months of age. But what type of water is best? Tap water? Cooled, boiled water or filtered water? The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommends that all water given to infants be boiled ... The two main additives found in Australian tap water are ... Read full article
We’ve all heard about the benefits that wholegrains and fibre have to offer in terms of health and nutrition. But with the recent increase in the use of added fibres like polydextrose, inulin and Hi-maize in grain and dairy based foods; you may want to know a bit more about them and what they do. Read full article
A recent complaint to the Advertising Standards Board by the Obesity Policy Coalition about a Smarties online colouring-in competition aimed at three- to ten-year-olds, and a bill introduced by Greens leader Bob Brown to ban junk food advertising to children, has fuelled debate about the ethics of advertising energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods and beverages to kids ... This raises the question of whether television advertising, or rather advertising in general to an audience of children, is responsible in some way for the rates of overweight and obesity we are currently seeing. Read full article
Opinion: Front of Pack Labelling (FOPL) has been getting more media attention lately; the Federal government is likely to announce its stance on the matter prior to the Federal and State Food Ministers’ meeting in response to a commissioned report. The push for front of pack labelling is driven by the aim to help consumers make an informed decision about a food item based on the amount of sugar, fat or salt it contains ... The Healthy Kids Association recognises that FOPL has the potential to help consumers choose healthy options in the marketplace and can go some way to counter junk food marketing advertisements. Read full article
Grain foods such as breads, cereals, pasta, rice and noodles make up an important part of children’s healthy diets. They are packed full of: Energy - the fuel to keep growing bodies and brains going all through the day; Fibre to help keep the digestive system healthy and regular; B vitamins and minerals to keep the body running smoothly. How Much Grain Food Should be in Healthy Children's Diets? Read full article
Bisphenol A , also called BPA, is a chemical found in plastics that has been reported as possibly harmful to human health if ingested in large quantities. Parents have been especially interested in this news because BPA has been used in plastic polycarbonate baby bottles and in plastic lined cans for many years. A study published this week in the journal Pediatrics, has brought the topic back into the news. And it’s easy to interpret a headline in, for example, the Washington Post, with some alarm: “Study Links BPA Exposure in Womb to Behavior Problems in Toddler Girls”. Read full article
n the weekend edition of the Sydney Morning Herald (26 -27 March 2011) there was an article titled Overweight Teenagers Run the Risk of Liver Disease. The article reported on a recent study conducted in Western Australia that found 13% of 17-year-old teenagers had Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). We at Healthy Kids find this worrying as NAFLD is not normally diagnosed at this young age. What Does NAFLD mean for Children? And how do you Get Fatty Liver Disease? Read full article
Simultaneously tackling obesity and malnutrition may seem like “polar opposites”, conceded UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the High-Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases in New York, but an increasing number of countries are experiencing higher rates of both and the answer to reducing this phenomenon is the same: better nutrition. Twenty nations with stunting rates of more than 40 percent among children under-five have reaffirmed their commitments to develop national strategies to increase access to more nutritious foods. Read full article
If I had to name just one recipe that is a family staple in our house it would be Spaghetti Bolognaise. Or more correctly – Spaghetti Bolognese. Since moving out of home, falling in love with a man of Italian origin and also falling in love with his Italian parents and family here, my version of this essential family dish has been refined to the point that I think I can boastfully say – this Bolognese sauce is as tasty and delicious as I can make it. Here is the recipe. Read full article
According to The Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia (developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council) , anyone over 2 years old should consume reduced-fat varieties such as light milk, 25% reduced fat cheese and reduced fat yoghurt. This article contains information about recommended intake of dairy for children and ideas for increasing dairy food in your child's diet. Read full article
