Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2021 - 22

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Spaces/Environment:
* Create a designated space for eating.
* Use child-sized chairs, tables, and eating
utensils.
* Limit distractions such as toys, loud music,
and screens.
* Display posters and art with fun food
images. (See the " MyPlate Friends " -Mary
Dairy, Dean Protein, Jane Grain, Reggie
Veggie, and Farrah Fruit.)
Words/Actions:
* Encourage and model manners.
* Offer new foods with familiar foods.
* Give child-size portions at first (each food
item about the size of their palm).
* Do not reward or punish with food.
* Encourage celebrations with healthy snacks
or non-food items (example: birthday
smoothies or birthday stickers).
* Have regular, planned meals and snacks to
promote food security.
* If children are eating or drinking anything
other than water, sit down at the table.
* Balance " everyday foods " and " sometimes
foods. " (If you never allow treats or
" forbidden foods " they may become a
problem with excess when the child is able to
choose foods on their own.)
* Have designated cooking and snack
preparation activities. Children will eat
better if involved with the preparation.
Tween/Teenage Population
Nutrition Problems: High intake of
sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and poor
nutritional quality food items, convenient
eating, excess calorie intake, emotional eating,
disordered eating, food insecurity
Positive Eating Environments to Improve
Nutrition Problems: Foodservice directors
in school systems know that sales of SSBs and
concessions-type foods are high when they
are available to students. It is estimated that
63-67 percent of 12-19 year olds consume
sugary drinks on a given day compared to
38-41 percent of people aged 60 and older
(2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans). The
current 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
encourages " a healthy dietary pattern [that]
limits added sugars to less than 10 percent of
calories per day, starting at age two. " Tweens
and teens tend to go for convenient items
that are readily available to them. Emotional
or stress eating can be a concern in this
population as well. During the lockdown
period of the COVID-19 pandemic, some
reports found changes in dietary behaviors
and increased intake of unhealthy food choices
including sugary drinks (Stavridou). Research
from 1980-2005 found that young women
model other people's food intake (Conger) and
that they adapted their intake of vegetables to
mimic intake of those they ate with (Roth).
Even though this is older research, these
findings suggest that peer pressure makes a
difference for this age group when it comes to
food choices.
Spaces/Environment:
* Turn off vending machines during lunch
hours.
* Offer stations with choice, such as a salad or
sandwich bar.
* Offer alternative eating spaces, such as
outdoors or cafe tables in quiet hallways.
* Have booths or high-top tables to create a
cafe environment.
* Display fruits and vegetables in an attractive
manner at the beginning of the line.
* Offer a la carte fruits and veggies, lean
proteins, and whole grains in convenient
grab-n-go containers.
* Display posters of influencers or famous/
popular people eating healthy food.
22 NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | November-December 2021
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - November/December 2021

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