Junk food for thought!

Abu Dhabi: At the start of a school day, a child shows up with a handful of cards. He says to his teacher, “I want to invite my friends to my birthday party, and these are the invitation cards”. The teacher distributes the invites, as the children ask, “Where will the birthday party be?” Sadly, the answer, more often than not, is, “At a fast food restaurant”.

By celebrating children’s birthday parties at fast food outlets, parents are encouraging their children to adopt bad eating habits. Moreover, these parents are contributing to the children’s associating fast food with a happy occasion, where they received gifts and had fun.

Studies have shown that this association is one of the reasons why these children will, in the future, use fast food as comfort food.

Unfortunately, this unhealthy practice has become a trend. What is more alarming though, is the habit of frequenting fast food joints has initiated this trend. Fast food is also known by another, scarier name - junk food. It is rightly called junk because it is fat-laden, fried, and sugar-filled and this is exactly what your children will get at those birthday parties.

Pediatricians continue to warn against the serious consequences of junk food consumption at a young age. Experts have also warned that bad food habits have both immediate and long-term effects on children’s health and well-being.

Junk food is a direct cause of obesity and health related problems such as diabetes, heart disease, bone and joint problems, asthma, sleeping disorders, tooth decay, and ADD and ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). An obese child or one with bad food habits is likely to grow into an obese teenager with health problems.

It is no secret that along with the physical come the emotional problems. An obese child, for instance, may be teased by classmates about their appearance. Adults too may stereotype them as lazy or worthless. Subsequently this treatment will affect their self-esteem, with potential consequences such as extreme shyness, depression, anxiety, and certainly an academic underachievement.

Try bucking the trend

All the above mentioned points lead to some critical questions. Firstly, do we want to be the reason our children spend most of their youth in hospitals or injecting themselves with insulin? Is the excuse of being working parents who are pressed for time an excuse for allowing our kids to consume junk? Or, should we accept responsibility and provide our children with the tools that allow them to lead long healthy lives, both physically and emotionally?

Birthdays can be celebrated in class, at home, or in a park. These alternatives allow you to bring your own healthy snacks and homemade cakes. So the children still get their gifts and have lots of fun, but without the risk of developing bad eating habits and poor health.

Sweets and unhealthy snacks used as a reward or as pacifiers encourage bad food habits. Do not reward children, or pacify them with junk food. Children copy adults, especially their parents and caregivers. Therefore, they eat what we give them to eat and what they watch us eat. Therefore it is important for you to be a good role model. If you agree that junk food puts children’s lives at risk, then do you not think it high time to buck the trend of celebrating kiddy birthdays at fast food restaurants?

-Micheline Habib is an Abu dhabi based children’s book author and educational advisor.