Poor nutrition in developing children and adolescents can cause illnesses that hinder their physical and mental development, in addition to causing more serious problems in adulthood.
Because children and adolescents are still developing, their bodies are more susceptible to changes, and nutrition is the main way to enhance healthy growth and learning.
Below we present a list of the main diseases that the wrong diet can cause and what to do to avoid:
Main diseases
The main diseases that can occur due to poor diet are:
1. Obesity
Obesity is the main problem that leads to other diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular problems. Furthermore, being overweight, along with smoking, is one of the main causes of an increased risk of cancer.
What to do: Preference should be given to a more natural diet with fewer ready-made processed products, such as biscuits, snacks, snacks, ice cream, sausages and sausages, for example. Encouraging children to take home-made snacks to school is a great way to create healthy habits and avoid excess pasta, sugar and fried foods that are sold at school.
2. Anemia
Childhood anemia is common and usually occurs due to a lack of iron in the diet, which is mainly present in foods such as meat, liver, whole foods, beans and dark green vegetables, such as parsley, spinach and arugula.
What to do: It is important to encourage the consumption of beef liver steaks once a week, and eat a citrus fruit every day after lunch, such as orange, pineapple or tangerine, as they are rich in vitamin C and increase iron absorption in the intestine. See the main symptoms and how anemia is treated.
3. Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that is increasingly appearing in children and adolescents due to excess weight and lack of physical activity. In addition to the increase in sugar consumption, it is also linked to the high consumption of foods rich in flour, such as bread, cakes, pasta, pizza, savory snacks and pies.
What to do: It is necessary to maintain an adequate weight and avoid excessive consumption of sugar and white flour, paying attention to foods that have large quantities of these ingredients, such as cookies, ready-made cake dough, processed juices, soft drinks and snacks.
4. High cholesterol
High cholesterol increases the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as heart attack, stroke and atherosclerosis. This problem occurs mainly due to the consumption of foods rich in hydrogenated fats, such as cookies, snacks and processed products, and foods with a lot of sugar or flour.
What to do: you should add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to lunch and dinner, and include foods such as chestnuts, almonds, peanuts, walnuts and seeds such as chia and flaxseed in your snacks.
5. Hypertension
Childhood hypertension can be caused by other problems, such as kidney, heart or lung disease, but it is also closely linked to being overweight and consuming too much salt, especially when there is a family history of high blood pressure.
What to do: It is necessary to keep your weight under control, avoid using ready-made diced seasonings and add little salt when preparing food at home, giving preference to natural seasonings such as garlic, onion, pepper, paprika and parsley. Furthermore, it is necessary to avoid ready-made foods rich in salt, such as frozen lasagna, ready-made feijoadas, bacon, sausages, sausages and ham. Find out which foods are richest in salt.
6. Insomnia and difficulty breathing
Insomnia often happens because being overweight causes difficulty breathing, due to the accumulation of fat in the neck and chest area. The increase in fat puts pressure on the flour, which is the channel through which air passes, making breathing difficult and causing snoring and insomnia.
What to do: The solution is to lose weight through a healthy diet. See tips for making your child eat everything.
7. Arthritis, osteoarthritis and joint pain
Arthritis can often be linked to excess weight and increased inflammation in the body, caused by the accumulation of fat.
What to do: It is necessary to investigate the main cause of the problem and control weight, in addition to consuming anti-inflammatory foods, such as fruits, vegetables, tuna, sardines, nuts and seeds. Find out which foods are anti-inflammatory.
8. Eating disorders
Poor diet, excessive parental control and the high demands of current beauty standards put a lot of pressure on children and adolescents, and can serve as a trigger for the emergence of disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.
What to do: It is advisable to pay attention to young people’s behavior to identify eating disorders, refusal to eat or moments of binge eating. Teaching how to eat well, without focusing on beauty standards or restrictive diets, is the best way to prevent this type of problem.
See how to make your child eat better:
