Lockdown diet imbalance: A guide for parents

What is the best way for a child to enjoy the lockdown? Laze on the sofa, binge watching favourite Netflix or an animated series, while munching on chips and playing with a smartphone. No matter how terribly unhealthy that sounds when we put it into words, this is exactly how most middle class kids across the world have spent time since March-April 2020. Meanwhile, lower class kids have an even higher rate of malnutrition than what was already there.  

What’s the data on lockdown diet imbalance?  
An Italian survey conducted in late 2020 included 41 obese children aged 6–18 years, confined at home for 3 weeks. It showed that intakes of potato chip, red meat and sugary drinks increased significantly. Another international survey published in June 2020 conducted across Italy, Spain, Chile, Colombia and Brazil with 820 adolescents reported heightened consumption of fried and sweet foods, especially for slightly lower class kids where education was lacking among parents. Similar statistics exist for USA, India, China and lots of other countries.  

What foods should parents discourage?  
Deep-fried vegetables, junk snacks, processed and packaged foods, and all forms of packaged drinks should not become part of daily diet. Not just aerated drinks, most ‘energy drinks’ and packaged fruit juice also have a lot of sugar and preservatives. Instant noodles, a lot of desserts and chocolates / most boiled lozenges also contain lots of fat. These foods are attractive and addictive, so once you start giving them to your kid to break their boredom, they will insist on having them. To set a good example, you must avoid these foods too.  

What foods should parents encourage?  
A healthy meal plan includes multi-grain bread, rajma, green vegetables, sprouts and cereals. Fruits are also good, and some nuts contribute what doctors call ‘good fat’ for growing kids. Fibre is also a major requirement for our body. Eating a whole fruit is more healthy than the juice. Curd, buttermilk and healthy smoothies can all be made at home. Idli, dosa, upma, poha and stuffed paratha are other healthy and tasty meals. Do not forget eggs and fish since they are good for growing bodies.