Kids' food intake the key to growing well
4 July 2003
More than half the children diagnosed in primary care as having 'failure to thrive' are simply not getting enough food to meet their needs, say new National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) dietary guidelines.
This advice is in contrast to most measures recommended in the guidelines, which aim to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity. The other measures include new advice on the intake of reduced-fat milk, soft drinks and fruit juice (see below).
For children with suspected failure to thrive, the NHMRC 'Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia' say it is usually appropriate for GPs to try improving nutrition rather than proceeding immediately to further investigation or referral to a specialist clinic.
'What happens is that mothers put kids on very restrictive diets because they think they're lactose intolerant or allergic to this, that and the other, and then when you look at them they're skinny and scrawny,' guidelines co-author Professor Colin Binns said.
'They're obviously a bit under in terms of their growth percentile, but the reason is that they're simply not getting enough food because the diet is so restrictive.'
Professor Binns, from the Curtin University of Technology school of public health, said that growth retardation could also be caused by undiagnosed chronic diseases.
Some key points from the new NHMRC dietary guidelines
- Infants should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months.
- Soy milk and goat's milk formulas do not reduce allergies and should not be used instead of cow's milk formulas.
- From the age of 2 years, the diet should contain no more than 30 per cent fat.
- Reduced-fat milk is appropriate from the age of 2 years.
- Limit fruit juice and soft drink; sugar in liquid may have a reduced satiety (hunger satisfying) effect.
- Cola beverages have been associated with bone fractures in high-school girls.
Last Reviewed: 04 July 2003
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 27/6/03
