Healthy eating for all ages
On this Page:
Babies and
toddlers
School-age kids
Teens
Diabetes
prevention
Babies and
toddlers
Breastmilk is the
best food for your baby. It gives them all the nutrients that they need to
grow, and breastfeeding is a great way to bond with your baby. It’s common to
feel some discomfort when you first start breastfeeding, but it soon feels
quite natural. If breastfeeding isn’t going well for you and your baby, try
some new positions or techniques – the Raising Children website has helpful
tips.
Raising Children
has lots of advice on breastfeeding and bottle-feeding your baby. At some
point, you’ll need to wean your baby off breastmilk. The Raising Children
website also has tips to help you move your baby onto other foods.
One-year-olds can
eat at the table with the whole family – and they can eat what you are eating.
Just mash or mince it up, but avoid very spicy or very salty foods. By two
years old, they can start eating finger foods, like diced vegetables,
hard-boiled eggs, and bite-sized pieces of fruit.
Like so many other
parts of life, kids learn by watching you, so show them that you enjoy healthy
eating. Now is a good time to cut down on fast foods and packaged biscuits, and
to be a healthy role model for your kids.
Offer your kids a
mix of healthy foods. They may not eat everything you offer the first time
around. If they don’t like something, try again in a few weeks.
School-age kids
Breakfast is a
really important start to the day. It’s often a mad rush to get your family out
the door, but breakfast can be quick and easy. Cereal or toast doesn’t take
long to prepare, and can reduce the chance of unhealthy snacking later in the
day.
Kids will eat what
is available, so try to have healthy snacks in the house, rather than biscuits
or packets of chips. If they really are hungry, snacks like fruit, nuts, a
piece of toast or some yoghurt will fill the gap just fine.
Try to fill your
child’s lunchbox with healthy foods – sandwiches made with wholegrain bread,
fruit and vegetables, yoghurt, or hard-boiled eggs. Get them involved in making
their lunch, so they can learn about making healthy food choices.
Feeding Our
Families has ideas for quick, healthy – and often low-cost – meals.
Raising Children
has great tips on healthy eating for kids at different ages. The Nutrition
Toolkit has more ideas for helping your kids to stay fit and healthy.
Teens
Encourage your
teen to eat different kinds of food from the four food groups:
Teenagers need at
least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day.
They need at least
six servings every day of breads and cereals, which provide carbohydrates, fibre
and other nutrients. They are a great source of energy for growth, sport and
fitness, and ideal to meet the demands of intense physical activity.
Teenagers need at
least three servings of milk and milk products every day, preferably low fat.
Milk and milk products (such as cheese, yoghurt and ice cream) are valuable
sources of calcium and protein. High-calcium foods are needed to build strong
bones during the teenage years.
Teens need one or
two servings each day of lean meats, chicken, seafood, eggs and dried beans,
peas and lentils. These foods are important sources of protein, iron and other
nutrients. Teenagers need them for growth, mental and physical activity, and
sports.
Other healthy
eating tips for teens
Teenagers need to
drink at least six to eight glasses of water every day. They need to drink more
during hot weather and when they are very active (especially before, during and
after sports events).
Eat regular meals
and snacks, but limit foods high in fat, salt and sugar - encourage your teen
to try low fat varieties of milk, cheese and yoghurt.
Keep sugary foods
and drinks to mealtimes to protect teeth from decay, and eat meals without
adding extra salt.
Many fast foods,
takeaways and snacks are high in fat, salt and/or sugar. This includes
chocolate bars, muesli bars, potato chips, French fries, doughnuts, pies,
sweets, fruit leathers and soft drinks. Try lower fat takeaways include rice
and noodle based takeaways, burgers and kebabs, crumbed or grilled fish instead
of battered fish, thick chunky chips instead of thin chips, and fruit.
Make sure your
teen eats enough for growth and physical activity - they ned more energy
(calories) and nutrients than ever before, to help them grow.
Diabetes
prevention
Insulin in our
bodies helps to convert the glucose we receive from food into energy. Diabetes
is a condition where your body doesn’t have enough insulin to do this. We can
avoid developing type-2 diabetes by eating healthier foods and doing moderate
exercise for half an hour each day.
Type-2 diabetes
This is the most
common form of diabetes in New Zealand, and it is preventable. You can reduce
the risk of developing diabetes by eating healthy foods, exercising regularly,
and avoiding fatty foods.
Risk factors
There are some
groups of New Zealanders who are more likely to develop diabetes, and if you
fall into two or more of the following groups, you should see your doctor for a
diabetes check:
You are overweight
You have a family
history of diabetes
You are European,
and over 40 years of age
You are of Māori,
Pacific or Asian descent and over 30 years of age
You have given
birth to large babies (9lbs/4kg or over)
You have had high
blood glucose levels during pregnancy
You have high
cholesterol or high blood pressure
A doctor can test
you for diabetes or pre-diabetes, a stage where glucose levels are high, but
not high enough to diagnose diabetes. A diagnosis of pre-diabetes can give you
a chance to change your exercise and eating habits, to avoid onset of type-2
diabetes.
Type-1 diabetes
People whose
bodies do not create insulin have type-1 diabetes. Most people with type-1
diabetes develop it as children or teenagers, and it is not caused by diet or
lifestyle. There is no cure, but it can be controlled by insulin injection and
healthy eating habits.
Diabetes in
pregnancy
Some women develop
diabetes during pregnancy (known as gestational diabetes). A pregnant woman’s
body requires two to three times the normal amount of insulin, and if her body
doesn’t produce this, it leads to high levels of glucose in her blood.
In most cases,
gestational diabetes can be managed by diet and exercise during the pregnancy.
It usually goes away after the baby is born, as the body no longer needs high
levels of insulin.