Good nutrition early in life lays the foundation for a child’s optimal growth and development. Making sure that your child obtains a healthy diet will help provide the nourishment that he needs. A healthy diet is about aiming for moderation, balance and variety.
means eating the right amount of food; neither too much nor too little. The intake of foods high in fat1 , especially saturated fat and trans-fat, should be reduced. Foods high in added sugar and salt should also be consumed sparingly.
means to eat the recommended number of servings of food from each food group – locally, these groups refer to Brown rice & Wholemeal bread, Vegetables, Fruit and Meat & others. Read more on Health Promotion Board.
means eating different foods from the different food groups, as well as within each food group – in other words, it’s about having a varied diet. Each food group offers a wide range of choices and each one has a unique nutritional value.
The answer is quite simple – no one food supplies all the nutrients that the body requires. Diet diversity is well recognised as a key element of high quality diets, as it helps to ensure nutritional adequacy. When your child eats a variety of different foods, it increases the likelihood of obtaining various types of nutrients which are important for their growth and development. Research has found that there is a strong relationship between dietary diversity and indicators of a child’s growth, i.e. weight-for-age and height-for-age measurements.
It is worth reiterating that diet diversity involves the intake of foods from the different food groups and also within each food group. Your child’s diet may not be as varied as you think if he consumes foods from the different food groups, but only goes for a particular food within each group; or if he eats seemingly many different foods, but they only come from one or two food groups.
Many studies have shown that picky eaters have less variety in their diets than non-picky eaters. Is your child a picky eater? Research by the National University Hospital found that 1 in 2 parents here identified their children as picky eaters, and picky eating was first noticed as early as one year old.2
Furthermore, a recent survey conducted locally revealed that the diets of most 3-year-old children are not balanced.
are not eating enough fruit.
are not drinking enough milk.
are not eating enough vegetables.
are eating too much meat.
If your child is a picky eater, mealtimes can often feel like a battleground. Some ways to slowly get your child to eat foods out of his comfort zone include:
Oral Nutrition Supplements (ONS) may help plug nutritional gaps in children with suboptimal growth or poor dietary habits like picky eating. An ideal oral nutrition supplement (ONS) should be high in energy and nutrient-dense to plug nutrition gaps and support catch-up growth*. ONS is a convenient nutrition solution to help deliver complete, balanced nutrition and a range of essential micronutrients to your child’s diet without compromising on taste. It is also a more advantageous option compared to conventional sweetened beverages which tend to be less nutrient dense.
References:
1 Children under the age of 2 years grow rapidly so food higher in fat will help meet their energy needs. Low fat food or diets are not suitable for them at this age.
2 Goh DY, Jacob A. Perception of picky eating among children in Singapore and its impact on caregivers: a questionnaire survey. Asia Pac Fam Med. 2012 Jul 20;11(1):5. doi: 10.1186/1447-056X-11-5. PMID: 22816553; PMCID: PMC3477031.
* High in energy
SG.2022.27905.PDS.1 (v1.1)
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