New Zealand Listener – June 01, 2019

LISTENER JUNE 1 2019

THIS LIFE

GE

TT

Y^
IM

AG

ES

By your

leave

Forcing kids to finish

everything on their plates

sets them up for a bad

relationship with food.

Question:

As a child, I was brought up to eat everything on my

plate and not waste food. As an adult, I try to listen to my

body and leave food on my plate when I am full, but it’s

hard. Do you have any tips?

Answer:

‘C

ome on, don’t waste food – there

are starving children in Africa!” It’s

the refrain many Kiwi kids heard

while growing up. And, yes, there

are thousands of malnourished

children in Africa (and New

Zealand, for that matter), but

eating past fullness doesn’t benefit the health of

anyone in any country.

So, why are we so intent on encouraging,

cajoling or downright forcing our kids and

ourselves to eat past fullness and finish all the food

on our plates?

For parents, there seem

to be two reasons: they

don’t want to see good

food go to waste,

but they also

don’t trust their

child’s ability

to eat enough

food for their

growing body.

However,

young

children have

an innate

ability to

regulate their energy intake by eating

more at one meal to compensate for

eating less at an earlier one, according

to a study published in 1992 in the

journal Pediatrics.

We’re all born as intuitive eaters,

able to sense and respond to our

hunger and fullness cues. It’s only

when we’re taught to ignore those

cues, with messages such as “finish

everything on your plate”, that we

become disconnected from those

inbuilt signals.

Coercive parenting has been

associated with excess weight gain

in young people. It is characterised

by strict enforcement of parental

rules and little encouragement

of a child’s independence.

In contrast, an authoritative

parenting style is linked to healthier

weight and dietary outcomes. This

type of parenting is characterised by

structured guidance that listens to

and incorporates a child’s desires.

This means accepting that a child is

full and allowing them to leave the

table without finishing their meal.

T

his leaves us with the issue of

not wanting to see food go to

waste. It’s a hard habit to break,

even once we reach adulthood,

particularly for those who grew up

in large families where meals were

competitive, or where food was

scarce.

But whether unwanted food is

by Jennifer Bowden

NUTRITION