Dietary Recommendations in Childhood

September arrives, and with it the start of a new preschool and school year. This beginning marks a new stage and offers us a good starting point to stop and think about whether we are really offering our children a healthy and balanced diet, according to the recommended daily rations for the child population. We, as those directly responsible for the nutrition of our little ones, must be able to solve any nutritional imbalance that may have occurred during the holidays due to excesses, irregular hours, etc., and offer them the possibility of starting this new phase with the best possible feeding, since a healthy and balanced diet is a key factor for a good physical and mental development of the child.

Childhood is a stage of life in which a correct diet plays an essential role, since throughout these years eating habits will begin to be established that, correct or not, will be maintained almost throughout life. It is for this reason that any type of malnutrition, both due to excess and underdevelopment, can have important repercussions on the development and health status of infants in the short and long term.

In the first years of life, the energy and nutrient requirements vary depending on the individual growth rate, the degree of maturation of each organism, physical activity, sex and also on the ability to use the nutrients from the diet.

Energy needs in childhood

Regarding energy needs, they are estimated at approximately 80 kcal / kg of weight / day (from 3 years) that will remain until adolescence, at which time differences between the sexes begin to appear. This energy contribution must cover energy costs, growth, as well as those related to physical activity, which, in this period, is high.

Next, we present a summary table with the recommended rations for the child population and their frequency of consumption.

RECOMMENDED RATIONS FOR THE CHILD POPULATION
Type of food	recommendations		Ration Weight **
Rice *, Cereals *, pasta * and potatoes	2-3 servings / day		40-70 g of rice 30 g of cereals 80-150 g potatoes
Bread*	2-4 servings / day		25-50 g of bread
Fruits	≥ 2-3 servings / day	≥ 5 servings / day	50-80 g of fruits, greens and vegetables
Vegetables	≥ 2-3 servings / day
Dairy products	2-4 servings / day		100-200 ml of milk 125 g of yogurt 20-60 g of cheese
Vegetables	2-3 servings / week		35-50 g of legumes
Fish	3-4 servings / week		50-85 g of fish
meats	3-4 servings / week		50-85 g of meat
Eggs	3-4 servings / week		1 egg
Foods for occasional and moderate consumption
Saturated fats (margarine and butter) Fatty meats, sausages Sweets, cakes, ice cream, soft drinks, pastries

* Include integrals.

** The indicated weights refer to raw net weight ready to cook.

Cooking ways for a balanced diet in childhood

When the time comes to prepare food for our little ones, we must opt ​​for choosing the maximum type of culinary techniques that are within our reach, but always giving preference to the simplest and low-fat techniques and limiting fried, battered, as well as stews and fatty stews. In addition, if our children make any food outside the home, such as the morning classroom or school canteen, we must take into account the food they have consumed, in order to offer them the most adequate and balanced diet possible, always based on daily rations recommended and its frequency of consumption, that we have exposed previously.

A key aspect to remember is that there are no good or bad foods, but rather diets adjusted or not to the recommendations of the population to which they are directed, since there is no ideal diet, but different diets are capable of covering the nutritional needs of a person.