Schoolchildren's summer diet is high in oil, sugar and fat, but they still have fun in summer vacation

The temperature is high during the summer vacation, and schoolchildren can always be seen running back and forth on the streets. Because their parents are busy with work and neglect to properly manage their diet, in order to eliminate the heat, they often take cold bubble milk tea or drinks in their hands and sip them. However, nutritionists remind that if schoolchildren drink more than one cup of sugary drinks a day, they are likely to gain weight, cause symptoms of high blood sugar and high uric acid, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

During the summer vacation, many schoolchildren often drink cold, high-sugar beverages to cool off, which can easily cause obesity, high blood sugar, high uric acid, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

During the two-month summer vacation every year, many parents are too busy to prepare balanced and nutritious meals for their children due to work. They usually just give their children pocket money and ask them to prepare their own meals. However, most children lack the concept of healthy eating. Not only do they have irregular meals, they also replace regular meals with high-calorie foods such as hamburgers, desserts, and fried foods, and even replace boiled water with cold sugary drinks.

Tsai Hui-jun, a nutritionist at Taichung Guangtian Hospital, said that there was a male student in his teens who had uncontrolled diet during the summer vacation. He ate multiple meals a day, and almost all of them were high-calorie fast food, fried food, sweets and cold drinks. In addition, he lacked exercise, which caused his blood sugar index and uric acid levels to exceed the standard. His body mass index (BMI) exceeded 27, and he became mildly obese.

At the end of summer vacation every year, the number of schoolchildren who come to the outpatient clinic for obesity will be slightly larger than usual. In order to avoid obesity during the holidays, parents can first instill in their children the correct concept of a balanced diet, especially during the hot summer vacation. Beverages should be zero-calorie or low-calorie, and foods containing creamer and trans fatty acids should be avoided; eat more fresh fruits to increase fiber intake.

Because of the hot summer, many schoolchildren do not like to drink tasteless boiled water, and instead choose ice cream to cool off. However, nutritionist Cai Huijun reminds that for schoolchildren who do not like to drink plain water, parents can occasionally replace it with unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices; for schoolchildren who like to eat shaved ice, it is recommended to choose fresh fruit ice, and avoid choosing ingredients with high starch content such as red beans, mung beans, taro, tapioca pearls, taro balls, as well as high-calorie seasonings such as condensed milk and fruit syrup. It is worth noting that when drinking ice drinks or eating ice products, you should avoid consuming too much or too quickly to avoid increasing the burden on your stomach and intestines.

Nutritionist Cai Huijun reminds that school children should pay attention to nutritional balance in their summer diet, but because they are in the growth period, they must supplement more calcium and iron. Calcium sources include milk, dried fish and tofu, and iron sources include meat and dark vegetables.