With one out of five children in Dubai being either overweight or obese, health authorities are calling for urgent steps to be taken to halt this alarming epidemic.
A large segment of the children are tipping the scales, so to speak, over the danger limits, not due to genetic factors but because of unhealthy food habits.
Many working couples do not have time to prepare home-cooked meals for their children and hurriedly throw snacks into lunch boxes that are bound to have a negative impact on the health of the children. Other couples depend on househelp to feed their children, not taking the time to personally oversee their children’s diet.
Making lifestyle changes is, understandably, difficult for working couples who are juggling professional and family imperatives but changes can be made over time by focusing on the long-term effects of unhealthy eating habits on children, and educating them about eating right.
A nursery in Dubai is trying, in its small way, to help get children back on track to healthy eating habits. It has a child dietician on its premises to whip up wholesome meals for the children. The children in the nursery are in the age group of three months to four years.
“We are working with parents to provide healthy nutrition options for their children,” says Rukhsana Swinney, manager, Little Champions Nursery.
The nursery also caters for special dietary requirements of the children with allergies. (Some children, for example, are allergic to strawberries or honey. The nursery does not serve nuts, chocolates or fizzy drinks.)
The healthy diet seems to be working and children are enjoying their daily menu away from home. “Parents (of these children) inform us that, previously, they would make a fuss about eating vegetables, mostly entirely avoiding them,” says Sabina Azizova, CEO of the Nursery. “So they were pleasantly surprised to see that after attending the nursery, they had started to eat vegetables.”
Good habits introduced to children at an early age will stay with them, says Azivova. “They will last a lifetime. What you teach a child upto the age of six stays forever with them,” she adds.
The nursery is also planning to hold talks by a nutritionist who will educate parents on the best practices of feeding their children and on what constitutes a healthy meal.
