Welcome to JPNSG

Hi! My name is Samantha Morrison. Welcome to the web-site of The Jersey Parents Nutrition Support Group (J.P.N.S.G).

I believe parents play an essential role in setting the boundaries of a child’s diet.

Unfortunately due to the high cost associated with living in Jersey, often one or both parents have to work. In response to the results of the Annual Report of 2006 (featured in the J.E.P last Autumn) I believe the problems our children are facing regarding increasing levels of obesity, are caused by a number of factors. One of these, i believe includes:

poor parental education regarding food - Many parents are unaware of the damage an unhealthy lunch-box can cause, and how easy it can be to become a “Junk Box” if you fail to read lables properly.

It often stems from the supermarket when the stressed-out parent is pestered by their child to purchase the item in the bright packaging with the garish child-ish logo. They have seen the item advertised somewhere, or their school friend has had it in his/her lunch-box, and let them try it.

Take Dairylea Lunchables for example - This product range is specifically aimed for the “convienience” parent. Beneath it’s glossy, colouful plastic film it usually contains a handful of small crackers and a couple of pieces of alarmingly processed looking lumps of ham and of cheese. Turn the packet over to read the label and the results are worrying.

Just one packet of this stomach churning dairy disaster contains a whole daily salt allowance for a 3 year old child!

If you must go down the “convienience route” for whatever reason, do it yourself at home.

It only takes a couple of minutes to prepare something a lot more appealing, without all the additional additives, and the best thing of all is that you can vary the menu from day-to-day depending on your child’s individual tastes.

I’m convinced that many of the people who purchase thse pre-made excuses for snacks/lunches have not taken the time to read the label before buying them.

As a parent of a school age child and one who will soon be attending full-time Nursery I have found it helpful to roughly familiarise myself with the governments current nutritional guidelines, so that when I am out shopping I can intstantly notice whether or not an item is excessively high in salt, fat, sugar, etc.

The current advice is as follows:

	Women	Men	Adults	5-10yrs
Energy - Kcal (Calories)	2000	2500	2000	1800
Protein	45g	55g	45g	65g
Carbohydrates	230g	300g	230g	220g
of which sugars	90g	120g	90g	85g
Fat	70g	95g	70g	70g
of which saturates	20g	30g	20g	20g
Fibre	24g	24g	24g	15g
Sodium	2.4g	2.4g	2.4g	1.4g
Equivalent as salt	6g	6g	6g	4g

——————————————————————–

Girls
	4-6 years	7-10 years	11-14 years	15-18 years
Energy - Kcal (Calories)	1550	1750	1850	2100
Protein	20g	28g	41g	45g
Carbohydrates	195g	220g	230g	265g
of which sugars	75g	85g	90g	105g
Fat	60g	70g	70g	80g
of which saturates	20g	20g	25g	25g
Fibre	12g	16g	20g	24g
Sodium	1.1g	1.8g	2.4g	2.4g
Equivalent as salt	3g	5g	6g	6g

——————————————————————–

Boys
	4-6 years	7-10 years	11-14 years	15-18 years
Energy - Kcal (Calories)	1700	1950	2200	2750
Protein	20g	28g	42g	55g
Carbohydrates	215g	245g	275g	345g
of which sugars	85g	100g	110g	140g
Fat	65g	75g	85g	105g
of which saturates	20g	25g	25g	35g
Fibre	12g	16g	20g	24g
Sodium	1.1g	1.8g	2.4g	2.4g
Equivalent as salt	3g	5g	6g	6g

——————————————————————–

My advice regarding the issue of processed snack/lunch packs is to re-create the idea yourself at home when you have a bit of time. Experiment with different flavours, textures, and tastes, asking your child what he/she would like to try.

Don’t be put off if the first couple of times your efforts are brought back un-eaten and soggy in a damp lunchbox mixed with the remains of a banana skin. Tests on children have shown it can take a child over 10 times to accept a new food, so persistance and variety really is the key.

As for gimmick yoghurts (those ones you see with popular cartoon characters etc on the front) - These often contain larger amounts then are actually needed of sugar, and long-term consumption can make it difficult to introduce healthy less sugary varieties.

A favourite for both me and my two children is the Yeo Valley Organic Yoghurt range. You can purchase these from most major supermarkets now (including the ones over here) and they are available in small child size 100g pots or the large 450g pots which I personally find more economical.

The best thing about these yoghurts is that they are naturally sweetened with organic sugar and don’t have the acid sugar taste you get with standard yoghurts aimed for children.

food, helthy, jersey, nutrition

Add comment November 14th, 2006