11.1: Basic Nutrition for Children

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Heather Carter and Amber Tankersley
Pittsburg State University

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

Define and explain the function of nutrients.
Discuss influences on food choice.
Outline how to achieve a healthy diet.

Introduction

In order to plan, prepare, and serve nutritious foods to children in early care and education programs it’s important to have a basic understanding of nutrition and the programs and resources available to support meeting children’s nutrition needs.

What are Nutrients?

The foods we eat contain nutrients. Nutrients are substances required by the body to perform its basic functions. Nutrients must be obtained from our diet, since the human body does not synthesize or produce them. Nutrients have one or more of three basic functions: they provide energy, contribute to body structure, and/or regulate chemical processes in the body. These basic functions allow us to detect and respond to environmental surroundings, move, excrete wastes, respire (breathe), grow, and reproduce. There are six classes of nutrients required for the body to function and maintain overall health, these are:

carbohydrates,
fats,
proteins,
water,
vitamins, and
minerals.

One measurement of food quality is the amount of nutrients it contains relative to the amount of energy it provides. High-quality foods are nutrient-dense, meaning they contain significant amounts of one or more essential nutrients relative to the amount of calories they provide. Nutrient-dense foods are the opposite of “empty-calorie” foods such as carbonated sugary soft drinks, which provide many calories and very little, if any, other nutrients. Food quality is additionally associated with its taste, texture, appearance, microbial content, and how much consumers like it.⁵⁵⁰Foods also contain non-nutrients that may be harmful (such as natural toxins common in plant foods and additives like some dyes and preservatives) or beneficial (such as antioxidants).

Macronutrients

Nutrients that are needed in large amounts are called macronutrients. There are three classes of macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These can be metabolically processed into cellular energy, allowing our bodies to conduct their basic functions. A unit of measurement of food energy is the calorie. Water is also a macronutrient in the sense that you require a large amount of it, but unlike the other macronutrients, it does not yield calories.

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are nutrients required by the body in lesser amounts, but are still essential for carrying out bodily functions. Micronutrients include all the essential minerals and vitamins. There are sixteen essential minerals and thirteen vitamins. In contrast to carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, micronutrients are not sources of energy (calories), but they assist in the process as components of enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that cause chemical reactions in the body and are involved in all aspects of body functions from producing energy, to digesting nutrients, to building macromolecules. Micronutrients play many essential roles in the body.

The Challenge of Choosing Foods

There are other factors besides environment and lifestyle that influence the foods you choose to eat. Different foods affect energy level, mood, how much is eaten, how long before you eat again, and if cravings are satisfied. We have talked about some of the physical effects of food on your body, but there are other effects too.

Food regulates your appetite and how you feel. Multiple studies have demonstrated that some high-fiber foods and high-protein foods decrease appetite by slowing the digestive process and prolonging the feeling of being full or satiety. Food also has psychological, cultural, and religious significance, so your personal choices of food affect your mind, as well as your body. The social implications of food have a great deal to do with what people eat, as well as how and when. Religious practices may influence an individual's eating and food choices. Special events in individual lives—from birthdays to funerals—are commemorated with equally special foods. Being aware of these forces can help people make healthier food choices—and still honor the traditions and ties they hold dear.

Factors that Drive Food Choices

Along with these influences, a number of other factors affect the dietary choices individuals make, including:

Taste, texture, and appearance. Individuals have a wide range of tastes that influence their food choices, leading some to dislike milk and others to hate raw vegetables. Some foods that are very healthy, such as tofu, may be unappealing at first to many people. However, creative cooks can adapt healthy foods to meet most people’s taste.
Economics. Access to fresh fruits and vegetables may be scant, particularly for those who live in economically disadvantaged or remote areas, where cheaper food options are limited to convenience stores and fast food.
Early food experiences. People who were not exposed to different foods as children, or who were forced to swallow every last bite of overcooked vegetables, may make limited food choices as adults.
Habits. It’s common to establish eating routines, which can work both for and against optimal health. Habitually grabbing a fast food sandwich for breakfast can seem convenient, but might not offer substantial nutrition. Yet getting in the habit of drinking an ample amount of water each day can yield multiple benefits.
Culture. The culture in which one grows up affects how one sees food in daily life and on special occasions.
Geography. Where a person lives influences food choices. For instance, people who live in Midwestern US states have less access to seafood than those living along the coasts.
Advertising. The media greatly influences food choice by persuading consumers to eat certain foods.
Social factors. Any school lunchroom observer can testify to the impact of peer pressure on eating habits, and this influence lasts through adulthood. People make food choices based on how they see others and want others to see them. For example, individuals who are surrounded by others who consume fast food are more likely to do the same.
Health concerns. Some people have significant food allergies, to peanuts for example, and need to avoid those foods. Others may have developed health issues that that them to follow a low-salt diet. In addition, people who have never worried about their weight have a very different approach to eating than those who have long struggled with excess weight.
Emotions. There is a wide range in how emotional issues affect eating habits. When faced with a great deal of stress, some people tend to overeat, while others find it hard to eat at all.
Green food/Sustainability choices. Based on a growing understanding of diet as a public and personal issue, more and more people are starting to make food choices based on their environmental impact. Realizing that their food choices help shape the world, many individuals are opting for a vegetarian diet, or, if they do eat animal products, striving to find the most “cruelty-free” options possible. Purchasing local and organic food products and items grown through sustainable products also help shrink the size of one’s dietary footprint.⁵⁵⁸

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Pause to Reflect

Think of your last meal or snack. What are some of the factors listed above that led you to choose to eat what you did?

Achieving a Healthy Diet

Achieving a healthy diet is a matter of balancing the quality and quantity of food that is eaten. Five key factors make up a healthy diet:

A diet must be adequate, by providing sufficient amounts of each essential nutrient, as well as fiber and adequate calories.
A balanced diet results when you do not consume one nutrient at the expense of another, but rather get appropriate amounts of all nutrients.
Calorie control is necessary so that the amount of energy you get from the nutrients you consume equals the amount of energy you expend during your day’s activities.
Moderation means not eating to the extremes, neither too much nor too little.
Variety refers to consuming different foods from within each of the food groups on a regular basis.

A healthy diet favors whole foods. As an alternative to modern processed foods, a healthy diet focuses on “real” fresh whole foods that have been sustaining people for generations. Whole foods supply the needed vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber that are essential to good health. Commercially prepared and fast foods are often lacking nutrients and often contain inordinate amounts of sugar, salt, and saturated and trans fats, all of which are associated with the development of diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, stroke, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses. A balanced diet is a mix of food from different food groups (vegetables, legumes, fruits, grains, protein foods, and dairy).

Vegetarian Diet

People choose a vegetarian diet for various reasons, including religious doctrines, health concerns, ecological and animal welfare concerns, or simply because they dislike the taste of meat. There are different types of vegetarians, but a common theme is that vegetarians do not eat meat. Four common forms of vegetarianism are:

Lacto-ovo vegetarian. This is the most common form. This type of vegetarian diet includes eggs and dairy products.
Lacto-vegetarian. This type of vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs.
Ovo-vegetarian. This type of vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products.
Vegan. This type of vegetarian diet does not include dairy, eggs, or any type of animal product or animal by-product.⁵⁵⁹

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Pause to Reflect

Think back to your childhood, how do you think your diet did with regard to adequacy, balance, moderation, and variety? What about your diet now?

Nutrition in Early Care and Education Programs

Many different programs support early care and education programs by providing nutritious meals and snacks for children. Let’s explore a few of these.

Child and Adult Care Food Program

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children and adults who are enrolled for care at participating childcare centers, daycare homes, and adult daycare centers. Eligible public or private nonprofit child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, Head Start programs, and other institutions that are licensed or approved to provide day care services may participate in CACFP, independently or as sponsored centers.⁵⁶² Over 2 billion meals are served in the CACFP.⁵⁶³

Even if a program chooses not to participate in (or is ineligible for) the CACFP, they are required by licensing to its meal plan requirements.⁵⁶⁴ The CACFP nutrition standards for meals and snacks served in the CACFP are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, science-based recommendations made by the National Academy of Medicine, cost and practical considerations, and stakeholder input. Under these standards, meals and snacks served include a greater variety of vegetables and fruit, more whole grains, and less added sugar and saturated fat.⁵⁶⁵

CACFP Best Practices

Table 12.6 – CACFP Best Practices⁵⁶⁸^,⁵⁶⁹
Category	Best Practices
Vegetables and Fruit	Make at least one of the two required components of snacks a vegetable or fruit Serve a variety of fruits and choose whole fruits Juice is limited to once a day Provide at least one serving each of dark green leafy vegetables, red and orange vegetables, beans and peas (legumes), starchy vegetables, and other vegetables each week
Grains	Provide at least two servings of whole grains per day (at least one is required)
Meat and Meat Alternatives	Serve only lean meats, nuts, and legumes. Limit serving processed meats to no more than one serving per week. Serve only natural cheeses and choose low-fat or reduced-fat cheeses.
Milk	Serve only unflavored milk Nondairy milk substitutes that are nutritionally equivalent to milk may be served in place of milk to children with medical or special dietary needs
Sugar	Yogurt must contain no more than 23 grams per 6 ounces Breakfast cereals must contain no more than 6 grams of sugar per dry ounce Avoid serving non-creditable foods that are sources of added sugars, such as sweet toppings (honey, jam, syrup), mix-in ingredients sold with yogurt, and sugar-sweetened beverages
Miscellaneous	Frying is not allowed as a way of preparing foods on-site Limit serving purchased pre-fired foods to no more than one serving per week Incorporate seasonal and locally produced foods into meals

Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act

“And all licensed child care providers…must follow the Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act. The four key messages in the Healthy Beverages in Child Care Act are:

Only unflavored, unsweetened, non-fat (fat-free, skim, 0%) or low-fat (1%) milk can be served to children 2 years of age or older.
No beverages with added sweeteners, natural or artificial, can be served, including sports drinks, sweet teas, juice drinks with added sugars, flavored milk, soda, and diet drinks.
A maximum of one serving of 100% juice is allowed per day.
Clean and safe drinking water must be readily available at all times; indoors and outdoors and with meals and snacks.”⁵⁷⁰

MyPlate

MyPlate is the United States Department of Agriculture’s food guidance program to help Americans eat healthy and is based on the Dietary Guidelines for America. It replaces MyPyramid (which had replaced the classic Food Guide Pyramid).

The visual for MyPlate is a familiar mealtime symbol, the plate. It gives easy visual reference to remind people to create balanced meals. The main messages of MyPlate include:

Make half the plate fruits and vegetables
Focus on whole fruits.
Vary your veggies.
Make half the grains whole grains.
Move to low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt.
Vary the sources of protein.⁵⁷³

food guide pyramid

1992: Food Guide Pyramid

MyPyramid

2005: MyPyramid Food Guidance System

MyPlate

2011: MyPlate

12.5 – The most recent Food Guides from the USDA.⁵⁷⁴

Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)

Issued by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, the DRI is the general term for a set of reference values used to plan and assess nutrient intakes of healthy people. These values, which vary by age and sex, include:

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA): average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%-98%) healthy people.
Adequate Intake (AI): established when evidence is insufficient to develop an RDA and is set at a level assumed to ensure nutritional adequacy.
Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL): maximum daily intake unlikely to cause adverse health effects.⁵⁷⁵

That information is used to create nutrition fact labels.

Nutrition Facts Labels

The information in the main or top section of a nutrition label can vary with each food and beverage product; it contains product-specific information:

Serving Information

When looking at the Nutrition Facts label, first take a look at the number of servings in the package (servings per container) and the serving size. Serving sizes are standardized to make it easier to compare similar foods; they are provided in familiar units, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount, e.g., the number of grams (g). The serving size reflects the amount that people typically eat or drink. It is not a recommendation of how much you should eat or drink.

It’s important to realize that all the nutrient amounts shown on the label, including the number of calories, refer to the size of the serving. Pay attention to the serving size, especially how many servings there are in the food package. For example, you might ask yourself if you are consuming ½ serving, 1 serving, or more.

Calories

Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food.

Nutrients

This section lists some key nutrients found in the food that impact your health. Two key facts about the nutrients:

Nutrients to get less of: Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Added Sugars.
Nutrients to get more of: Dietary Fiber, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.

The Percent Daily Value (%DV)

The % Daily Value (%DV) is the percentage of the Daily Value for each nutrient in a serving of the food. The Daily Values are reference amounts (expressed in grams, milligrams, or micrograms) of nutrients to consume or not to exceed each day.

The %DV shows how much a nutrient in a serving of a food contributes to a total daily diet for adults. The %DV helps you determine if a serving of food is high or low in a nutrient.⁵⁸¹

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Pause to Reflect

Find a food that is marketed to young children (that has a food label). Looking at the label, how do you think it rates a healthy choice? Why?

Summary

Providing nutritious meals and snacks to children in early care and education programs requires a basic understanding of nutrition. Program staff should also have an understanding of what a complete and healthy diet includes and how to address factors that influence food choices, to ensure that they provide healthy food and beverages that children will enjoy eating. Being aware of the programs available to support doing so is also valuable. Children who have high-quality meal and snack times will have the fuel their bodies need to sustain optimal growth and development.

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Resources for Further Exploration

References

This page was adapted from 12: Basic Nutrition for Children by Paris. in Paris, J. (2021). Health, safety and nutrition. LibreTexts.

For references according to subscript, please see pages 308-335 of the original Health, Safety and Nutrition book (Paris, 2021) on Google Drive.

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Pause to Reflect

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CACFP Best Practices

Serving Information

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Nutrients

The Percent Daily Value (%DV)

Pause to Reflect

Summary