Health And Wellness Test

• Eating habits


  Controlled by hunger
• Factors that shape eating habits

  • Your emotions
  • Your cultural background
  • Your income
  • All of the above
  • None of the above
• Factors shaping eating habits

  • Physical
  • Emotional
  • Social
  • Cultural
  • Body Image
  • Economics
• Trend of moving away from traditional foods and cooking styles toward a more North American diet

  Drawback (identified by WHO)
• Functions of nutrients


  • Not manufactured by the body
  • Help other nutrients to do their jobs
  • Catalysts that help other building blocks to function (i.e., protein, fats, etc.)
  • Found in the four food groups
  • Also available in supplements when large doses are recommended by health care providers
• Type of fat Health Canada recommends eliminating from daily food intake

  Trans fats
• Taking supplements has equal nutritional benefits to eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals
• Water is not considered a nutrient
• Water

  • Necessary for life and cell function
  • 6 to 8 glasses per day
• Food groups with higher number of recommended daily servings

  • Grain products and milk products
• Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide provides recommended daily servings
• Child-sized serving


  To determine developmentally appropriate serving sizes, look at the recommendations in Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide and cut the quantity by approximately 2/3 to 3/4 for toddlers, 1/4 to ½ for preschoolers, and 1/4 or nil for school-agers
• Vegetarianism


  Refers to a plant-based way of eating for reasons such as religious or cultural tradition, or animal rights
• Flexitarianism


  Refers to the choice to eliminate or reduce some meat for health reasons, such as lowering cholesterol levels
• Types of vegetarians


  • Pescetarianism
  • Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian
  • Lacto Vegetarian
  • Ovo Vegetarian
  • Vegans
• Vegetarians need to ensure that they find alternate ways to obtain the essential nutrients that are rich in meats (e.g., iron, Vitamin B12)
• Children's control over eating

  Decide how much and whether they will eat
• Adults' control over feeding


  Are responsible for what, when, and where
• Introducing new foods


  1. Present one new food at a time and offer it in small amounts

  2. Introduce it when children are most hungry

  3. Serve it with familiar foods

  4. Talk about the colour, texture, taste, shape, and smell of the food
• Introducing new foods (continued)

  1. Talk about what they liked or didn't like about the new food

  2. Encourage the children to help you prepare the new food

  3. Encourage, but don't insist that children taste the new food

  4. If children see educators enjoying or trying the new food, they may be encouraged to try it, too
• Benefits of breastfeeding


  • Species-specific milk, containing ideal quantities and qualities of nutrients
  • Essential fatty acids and large amount of lactose promote the best possible brain and central nervous system development
  • Protein in breast milk easily digested compared with proteins from other foods
  • Breast milk contains antibodies providing infant with immunity against some infections during breastfeeding
• Bottle propping


  Unacceptable, because of the risk of choking and dental caries
• Older infants who can sit without support

  May prefer to sit and drink their bottles independently
• Educators discourage older infants and toddlers from walking around with a bottle in the mouth
• Ways early childhood settings can be breastfeeding-friendly environments


  • Written policy on breastfeeding support in program—include it in information package for families
  • Provide comfortable place on site for mothers to breast feed and express milk
  • Promote breastfeeding with wall posters and free brochures
  • Encourage discussion with families re: breastfeeding, and include fathers in discussion, if possible
• Ideal time to switch to cow's milk

  12 months
• Ideal milk for children under 2 years old


  Full fat (homogenized 4%) milk
• Key things to remember for infant nutrition


  • Infant cereals (due to easily absorbed iron)
  • Vegetables and fruit
  • Meat and alternatives
  • 0 to around 6 months: breast milk or formula
  • around 6 months: begin the introduction of semi-solids
• Families have primary responsibility for introducing foods to infants. To respect this fact, and to minimize the likelihood of allergic reactions in the program, educators follow the family's lead, and offer foods in the program after the family indicates that the infant is eating it at home
• Generally, the first semisolid foods introduced to infants

  Iron rich foods
• Introduction of semisolid foods

  1. Iron-fortified cereals

  2. Vegetables and fruit

  3. Meat and alternatives
• Toddler nutrition


  • Need for trust and security, but also autonomy
  • Growth rate slows
  • Exploration speeds up
• Division of responsibility re: children's eating

  • Avoid power struggles ... no one wins
  • Serve foods that are child-oriented
  • Be casual about food jags
  • Avoid foods that can cause choking
• Preschool nutrition


  • Weight gain slows
  • Dramatic change in head and body shape
  • Increasing initiative
  • Interest in learning about others
• Expectations for mealtime behaviour


  Establish clear and reasonable expectations
• Ways of providing food in early childhood programs

  • Prepared elsewhere (e.g., caterer) and brought in
  • Prepared in the program (i.e., on-site kitchen and cook)
  • Families bring in their child's food
  • Combination of above (e.g., families bring in lunches, but snacks provided)
  • Agency nutrition programs (i.e., sponsored by government or foundation)
• What a nutrition policy includes

  • Legislative requirements
  • Foods, if any, that can be brought in by families and visitors
  • Where menus are posted and how often they are revised
• What a menu plan for children should include

  • Finger foods
  • A variety of colours and textures
  • A new food each week
  • All of the above
• Foods to never serve children under 4

  • Popcorn
  • Hard candy or gum
  • Whole grapes or raisins
  • Foods with pits or seeds
  • Whole peanuts and other nuts
  • Foods on toothpicks or wooden sticks
  • Fish with bones
• To prevent choking in children

  1. Cut wieners widthwise in small pieces

  2. Spread sticky foods thinly on bread rather than crackers

  3. Grate raw, hard vegetables