What should you feed your children? And how much should you feed them? It's often a dilemma. If you need help, it's just a click away, thanks to an Interactive Healthy Eating Plan Calculator, from the USDA and Baylor College of Medicine.
"By entering your child's sex, age, weight, height, and activity level, you can get a general eating plan for your child. The plan lists all the nutrition your child needs to grow and be active. And it does it without causing excessive weight gains," said Joan Carter, an instructor and dietitian who developed the calculator. The plans are ideal for children ages 4 to 18.
The calculator can suggest how much of a basic food group should be eaten each day. The food groups include fruits, vegetables, grains, milk products, lean meats, beans, and oils. It also gives guidelines for how many "discretionary calories" a child can have. (In other words, snacks.)
"Discretionary calories are the ones 'left over' after the right amount of nutritious foods are eaten," Carter explained. They are the number of calories a child can "spend" eating fats, treats, and sweets, or other foods without gaining too much weight.
The plans created by the calculator are based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Institute of Medicine's recommendations.
Check out the Interactive Healthy Eating Plan Calculator. |
