Currently, many of our children must eat at school because of the work schedules that parents have. A study prepared by the University of Granada confirms that children who eat at home suffer less obesity.
The research carried out by the University reveals that children whose menus are prepared by their mothers are better fed and suffer less obesity, while the nutritional status of children worsens when a person other than the mother prepares their family menu.
The researchers want to publicize the importance of mothers in caring for the diet of the whole family, since it is who best knows the nutritional needs of the family and the best prepared to develop a healthy and balanced diet.
To reach this conclusion, scientists have studied 718 school children and adolescents between 9 and 17 years of age, belonging to thirteen public and private educational centers from the city of Granada and its province. As a starting point they took as essential data age, sex, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), skin folds, body perimeters and aspects of their family environment as well as their frequencies of consumption and the practice of some physical activity.
In this study they have also observed that as the number of hours children watch TV, play video games or are connected to the Internet increases, their body mass index increases significantly.
These researchers have explained that it should be re-promote healthy lifestyles in families and that the practice of physical exercise is recommended, either as such or through classic games since it is the only way to have an optimal state of health.
With this we do not believe that in school canteens the children eat badly but we do know that cooking for children is not the same as for 50 or 100 schoolchildren, a mother knows what the child has had breakfast or snack and what he must eat so that the meal is complete and balanced and will do everything possible to take fruits, vegetables, etc. throughout the day. In a school canteen it is very difficult to control what each child eats.
What this study shows us, is something that we already knew for a long time and that some of us continue practicing whenever we can and that is as in mom's house is not eaten anywhere.
In Peques and More | The dietary quality of school menus worsens
Image | Paul Hamilton
