NO RESTRICTIVE DIET IN CHILDREN!

Apart from a few rare diseases , there is no need to prescribe a restrictive diet to a child. We must get down to correct errors and restore a balanced diet. In practice, what to do in case of excess cholesterol and obesity in children?

What to do in case of excess cholesterol?

Even in cases of hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), do not impose a restrictive diet to a child. However, it should reduce excessive fat intake and modify their distribution (lower the share of saturated fatty acids in favor of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids). In practice, one may use low-fat dairy products, avoid excessive cold meats and cheeses, replace butter with margarine or vegetable oils, avoid fatty parts of meat. And finally, it is often the most difficult: to reduce hidden fats (saturated fatty acids) contained in snack foods, including cookies, cakes, chips, etc. What not to do, it's greatly reduce the amount of fat as they participate in large part to caloric intake. Or insufficient calorie intake adversely sound growth of the child.

What to do in cases of obesity?

Low calorie diets limit the amount of daily calories and may (as shown above), hinder growth. Moreover, this type of diet is rarely followed in the long term by children. Obese children however have higher caloric intake to their needs. The reason is usually poor balance between food categories: their diet is too rich in sugars and fats. And usually, this imbalance comes from foods nibbled without food. The set is imposing 4 meals a day (including lunch) and no food outside. It is thus possible to gradually restore normal calorie and balanced diet.

The case of food allergies

When an allergy to one or more foods (polyallergie) is confirmed, it is necessary to impose an elimination diet of the allergen or allergens in question. It is necessary to use a dietician to ensure that the elimination diet does not cause nutritional imbalance. For example, children allergic to milk often need extra calcium or sometimes vitamins. Some food allergies are transient, the reintroduction of food can be considered by the allergist based on the results for certain tests. Attention an elimination diet should be decided only after confirmation of allergy and accurate identification of the allergen by the doctor. Parents should not implement such a scheme on mere suspicion. Some unjustified exclusions lead to nutritional disaster with repercussions on the development of the child. * Only a few diseases impose a very specific restrictive diet: exogenous hypertriglyceridemia, phenylketonuria, glycogen storage diseases and other metabolic diseases, renal failure.