As parents we always want to make sure our children eat well and eat healthily so that they receive the necessary nutrients in the right proportions for their growth and development. Not only is healthy eating essential for their current growth needs, it also determines and lays the foundation for their long term mental, physical and emotional well-being and health for the future.

During their growth phase, healthy eating ensures the child gets a stable supply of energy to meet the demands that his fast-growing body needs. Also, during this time, muscles, sinews, cells, tissues, blood and blood vessels as well as bones and teeth are forming, elongating and multiplying at an exponential rate. Growth velocity is at maximum during early childhood and adolescence. The head circumference reaches almost to adult size by six years of age[1]. During adolescence, height velocity is 10 to 12cm per year in boys and eight to 10cm per year in girls. Providing the child with balanced nutrients through healthy eating ensures he achieves optimum development in all areas.

Not only does healthy eating promote healthy physical growth, it also improves his mental health. He stays alert and is able to focus and process information in school and at home and becomes a more stable and calmer child.

Healthy Eating Lessens Chance of Developing Chronic Diseases

For the long run, healthy eating also means the child will have less chance of developing chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and even some cancers.

Of all the health issues, obesity is one of the most alarming public health challenges in Malaysia as childhood obesity is also becoming a rising epidemic. The national obesity prevalence rate reported in 2019 is 5.6% among children under the age of five and 14.8% for those aged five to 17 years of age. By 2025, the report predicts that 1.65 million school children will be obese[2].

Apart from bringing about chronic complications such as hypertension, high cholesterol, fatty liver and gallstones from a young age, obesity also impacts the child’s psychological health[3]. Being overweight often results in low self-esteem, low self-worth, body shame, anxiety, depression, sleeping disorders and poor academic performance. Additionally, the child could also become the target of bullies in school.

Why is Healthy Eating Important?

To avoid all of this, inculcate healthy eating habits from young. The benefits for healthy eating for children[4] cannot be overstated. During their growth and development phase, it keeps skin, teeth and eyes healthy, supports muscles and helps achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. It also strengthens bones, supports brain development, boosts immunity and helps the digestive system function.

And when they grow into adults, the strong foundation of health will help prevent a myriad of diseases, maintain bone and muscle strength, keep skin, teeth and eyes healthy and may even enhance longevity.

What is Healthy Eating?

Healthy eating is all about eating a variety of foods that keeps meals interesting and flavourful. As each food comprises a unique mix of nutrients such as macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), it is the key to eating a healthy and balanced diet. Children should eat from the five food groups. They are:

1. Fruits
2. Vegetables, legumes and beans
3. Grains and starches (rice, breads including flatbreads like Naan, Thosai, Pita, Shawarma; pasta and spaghetti; and noodles including vermicelli, udon etc)
4. Protein (lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives)
5. Dairy (milk, yoghurts, cheeses and/or alternatives)

At the same time, children should limit their intake of foods that are no good for their health. These foods usually contain saturated fat, added salt, added sugar and flavour enhancers. Some examples include fast foods, fried foods, hawker stall deep-fried snacks, keropok, kerepek and processed crisps).

In Malaysia, most of our food is laden with heavy seasoning, sauces and oil and many of our favourite snacks tend to be deep fried. The goreng pisang, keropok lekor, fried chempedak, cakoi and so on are only a few examples of the widely and available fare in the streets. On top of that, we love deep fried meals such as crispy fried chicken. Fried foods use a lot of oil. As a result, they contain more fat, calories and salt. Other high fat foods that are loved by all in Malaysia are Nasi Lemak, Chow Kway Teow, and Roti Canai.

While it is almost impossible to prohibit these foods altogether, children can be permitted to taste them in small amounts as part of a balanced meal plan once in a while.

But parents always have a choice. When cooking at home or eating out, opt for foods prepared using healthier methods such as steaming, boiling, poaching, baking, stir-frying, blanching or stewing and braising.

What is the Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate?

While choosing healthier cooking methods to create a healthier meal, use the Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate[5] to gauge giving the correct portion sizes to your children. The Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate is a simple visual technique to help parents to immediately determine the health value of a meal and whether it is balanced or not without having to measure or calculate anything. The concept not only simplifies the way to feed a child healthily, it also emphasizes quality over quantity in the choice of ingredients while promoting physical activity as part of the equation for staying healthy.

The Healthy Eating Plate[6] concept was created[7] by US nutrition experts in 2011 as a way to address the deficiencies of the widely-accepted USDA’s MyPlate. The old method used to promote low-fat messages and setting limits for calories that should be consumed each day.

The US Kid’s Healthy Eating Plate has since been adapted for use in the Malaysian context. Called the Malaysian Healthy Plate[8] or Quarter-Quarter Half/Suku Suku Separuh the concept remains the same.

1: Simply divide the dinner plate into Quarter-Quarter Half and fill these divisions with the following foods:

• ¼ plate grains or grain products such as rice, noodle, bread and cereals, cereal products and tubers with an emphasis on using whole grain products such as brown rice and wholemeal bread over refined grain.
• ¼ plate fish, or poultry or meat or eggs or legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• ½ plate of fruits and colourful vegetables

2: Drink plain water. Water is the better thirst quencher compared to sugary beverages of any kind. Carbonated drinks, juices and syrups may taste refreshing at first but in fact, can be dehydrating. This is because water in the body is being used to metabolize[9] the sugar in these drinks. Furthermore, some of these drinks also contain caffeine and sodium, plus lots of empty calories that lead to weight gain.

3: Correct Plate sizes: In order for the Healthy Eating Plate to work, choose the correct plate size[10] to fill with the correct amounts of food. Do not use adult plate sizes to estimate portions for children. As a general rule:

• adult plates − 23cm in diameter (9 inches)
• child’s plate −18cm (7 inches).

Adjust according to your child’s age. If he is just two years old, buy a toddler plate.

4: Keep active: Eating from a healthy plate, however, is not enough for a child to stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight if he doesn’t keep active. Discourage a sedentary lifestyle. Limit screen time including time spent on TV, smartphones, computers, and video games. Use the free time for physical activity.

Children need to be physically active[11] in order to build strong bones, muscles, heart, lungs, control his weight, boosts immunity, improve coordination, balance, posture and flexibility. Exercise also reduces anxiety and depression, promotes alertness and concentration which leads to improved school performance.

Here are some ways to be physically active[12] with your children:

• Emphasize fun and be involved
• Choose an activity that is developmentally appropriate. For toddlers and pre-schoolers, walking, running, skipping, playing ‘Follow the Leader’, dancing, clapping to music, catching, throwing, playing on the playground and even swimming are great physical activities. For those over the age of seven, football, bicycle riding, playing tag, hula hoops, skipping ropes, games and sports are great fun.
• Provide a safe environment for play and physical activity
• Make time for exercise. Some children are so overscheduled with homework, music lessons, after-school tuition and other activities that they do not have the time for exercise
• Do not overdo exercise and physical activity to the point where it causes pain, injury and over-tiredness, or interferes with schoolwork, rest and leisure time.

Inculcate Healthy Eating Habits from Young
People often say, bad habits are hard to break. However, the same is also true for good habits. When a child observes, learns and experiences good eating habits instilled by their parents, they are more likely to stick to their good habits and make smart decisions about food on their own as they get older. Inculcating good eating habits from young prepares them to set the good habit for life.

Parents are the main influence[13] of a child’s eating behaviour because they are the ones who buy or prepare the food and actively make all the food choices for the family. They serve as the example or model of how, when and what a child eats and it is they who reinforce the development of eating patterns and behaviours.

If the parents themselves do not like to eat vegetables, they will be unlikely to buy, serve or eat vegetables at the dinner table. The child observes this and copies the behaviour and attitude of the parents towards vegetables.

How Parents Can Encourage Healthy Eating Habits

Here are some tips[14] to encourage healthy eating habits:

• Sit together as a family at mealtimes, without any screens brought to the table.
• Make healthy foods fun, by cutting fruit or sandwiches into interesting shapes.
• Serve a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables.
• Learn together about how different foods are grown.
• Let your child help with food shopping and preparation.
• Try new foods and recipes.
• Limit the amount of junk food you keep in the house.
• Keep a bowl of fruit handy for snacks.

Dairy is One of the Five Food Groups

The dairy group which includes milk, cheese, and yoghurt is especially important for children because of the high amounts of protein, calcium, Vitamin D and phosphorous[15] that are needed to build strong bones and teeth and reduce the risk of chronic diseases later in life. The high potassium[16] content of dairy foods helps maintain blood pressure as it regulates heart beat and help muscles contract.

In the case of specially formulated growing-up milk, they contain more key components than just calcium and Vitamin D. Young children, especially toddlers and those who are just beginning to eat solid food require lots of other nutrients to support their growth and learning needs.

According to a German Nutrition Society Report from 2008, children between one and three years old are getting too much protein, not enough polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega-3), not enough Iron, Iodine, Folic Acid and Vitamin D. Growing up milk contains all of these elements in the necessary quantities as required by the child.

Morinaga Chil-kid is packed with over 45 essential nutrients such as AA+DHA, Nucleotides and dietary fibre Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), Omega 3&6 LCPs (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) and 27 vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, B1, B6, B12, C, D, E and K, plus Folic Acid and minerals Zinc, Calcium, Iron and many more. All of them are in sufficient amounts that are perfectly balanced to satisfy the needs of children aged one to seven. Its balanced ratio of AA+DHA, protein, fat and energy is specially suitable for Asian children.

Morinaga Chil-kid is a Japanese formulation that is produced and packed in a state-of-the-art plant in the Netherlands where it goes through stringent quality assurance processes and a double inspection in Japan before it is released into the market.

For more information on Morinaga Chil-kid, please visit the website here.