Nutrition / Macronutrients, Eczema, Sweet Craving

Evaluation of Child's Diet
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Subject: Brighton
History: 9 years old, 53’’, 57 lbs, healthy and very active child. Brighton is having peer pressure-,a condition which involves peers influence on person’s behavior and attitude towards something or somebody. This has influenced his choice and preference for food, thus affecting his healthy eating habits.
Patient Information
Brighton is a bright young child who loves playing with his age-mates. He is very active in games and plays hockey and skis at school. He eats dinner every night with the family members. However, his eating habit has changed for the past six months and he is sneaking sweets, and craving for white foods such as pasta, white bread and potatoes. In addition, he is declining to eat mainly at family meals, which have raised a lot of concerns from the parents. There is therefore need for dietary advice for the child in order to ensure healthy lifestyles.
Diet Review
Brighton first provided me with a list of foods that was not quite accurate, later after more talking to him and his mom, we did discover more unhealthy choices during lunch at school.
In addition Brighton gets eczema outbreaks on his body quite often. The mom tries to help these outbreaks with oatmeal baths and lotions.
Original diet summery:
BRIGHTON O. – 9 YEARS OLD, VERY ACTIVE BOY
Breakfast: Green Juice
(apple, Kale, banana, lemon, cucumber, water, Flax seeds)
Eggs – either souflet with almond milk and spinach and peppers or
sunny side up,
Sometimes pancakes –gluten free, sometimes bagels
Lunch: school lunch: grass fed hamburger, veggies( broccoli, peas, corn)
and French fries
After school snack: 1/2 Chicken Panini with pesto, spinach and tomatoes
Dinner: Chicken, broccoli and quiche
Snacks: bananas, apples, sometimes rice chips and guacamole, popcorn
On weekends: snacks on ski mountain: chocolate, kit-kat or M&Ms, Cliff bar
Main beverage: water or soda water
Highly active: plays hockey and skis 4x/week
3 Day Diary after an other 3 days and more honesty
Day 1
Breakfast: 1 glass of green juice and 1 ouncegluten-free pancakes/ in coconut oil
Lunch: 1.5 ounce grass fed hamburger, I bag of lay potato chips,6 chocolate cookies and 1-2 ounce water.
After school snacks: ½ chicken Panini with pesto, 3 spinach leaves, and 1 banana
Dinner: 1 quiche, 0.5ounce broccoli and 2 ouncesoda water
Day 2
Breakfast: 2 ounce green juice and 0.5 ouncesouflet/ made of eggs, peppers and almond milk
Lunch: French fries, 2 cups of water, 5 chocolate cookies, 1 bag of lay potato chips and2 ounce veggies
After school snacks: ½ chicken, 3 leaves of spinach, and 2 apples
Dinner: quiche, I cup of water and 1 ounce broccoli
Day 3
Breakfast: I cup of green juice and 2 eggs -sunny side up
Lunch: tacos with rice , 6chocolate cookies, 1 bag of potato chips and 1 glass of water
After school snacks: 1/2 chicken, 1 packet of popcorn and 2tomatoes.
Dinner:1/4chicken, I ounce broccoli and1 glass of soda water
Brighton eats diet that is high in fats, carbohydrates and sugar. He also likes eating chips when around with the friends. He is sensitive to taste and does not eat nuts or meat which is a good source of proteins. His mother cooks six days in a week, breakfast and dinner, which is composed of organic ingredients, and very little/ no processed food.
Continuing this diet Brighton is craving for poses great risk of unhealthy weighty gain, dental problems and cardiovascular diseases. Even though he is highly active, the decline in eating at family meals and sneaking sweets is concerning to the parents. In addition to his eczema outbreaks, that seem to be getting worth.
Physical Activity Target
Target

AT LEAST 150 minutes per week

Actual

1500  minutes

Daily Calorie Limit
Allowance

2000

Eaten     

1582

Remaining

418

Daily Food Group Targets More Info>
 

Grains

Vegetables

Fruits

Dairy

Protein Foods

Target

6 oz.

2½ cup(s)

2 cup(s)

3 cup(s)

5½ oz.

Eaten

4½ oz.

2¼ cup(s)

½ cup(s)

½ cup(s)

6½ oz.

Status

Under

OK

Under

Under

Over

Body mass index is used to track the developmental rate for a child above two years of age. For a child between 2 and 20 years, body mass index less than 5th percentile is considered underweight, while that above the 95th percentile is considered obese. Children between 85th and 95th percentiles are considered overweight. The developmental milestone for a child between age of 9-11 years include developing independence from the family and interacting more with their friends(Szymanek, Tanaś, &Kassar, 2015). Based on Brighton’sage and gender, his BMI of 14.3 places him on the 9th percentile, which is considered to be on the lower end of the healthy weight category.
Peer pressure influences the behavior and attitude of the child at this stage. In addition puberty changes slowly begin to manifest at this age. The growth rate and energy demand at age of 7-10 year increases. The recommended diet for a boy child aged 9-13 years includes grains 6 ounces, vegetables two and half cups, fruits one and half cups, proteins 5 ounces, and diary 3 cups (Szymanek, Tanaś, &Kassar, 2015)1.
The amount of calories required by a child at this stage depends on the level of physical exercise, growth rate and metabolism rate. The amount of protein needed declines as one grows from infancy to early childhood. Protein deficiency in the United States is common for vegetarians or poor children. In addition, excessive fat intake exposes one to unhealthy weight gain and chronic diseases. The fat intake should not be more than 30% of the calories(Fortin &Yazbeck, 2015)2.
The recommended macronutrient intake for child between 4-18 years in the United States is 45-65% carbohydrates, 10-30% proteins and 25-35% fats. Consuming highly sweetened foods or high cholesterol containing foods has no nutritional benefits. This is very common in children since they do not clearly understand the health risks of such food(Keim&Branum, 2013)3.
Brighton seems to consume a lot of sugary and fatty foods when unsupervised, which poses health risk to him.Brighton could be at risk of obesity and exposure to chronic diseases, if the parents don’t help him understand the importance of a healthy diet. Although Brighton is a very active child and consuming diet high in calories is recommended at this age, the calories should come from unprocessed nutrient rich sources. Eating chocolate cookies, chips and candy on the mountain increases the sugar level in the blood beyond the recommended daily intake(Fortin &Yazbeck, 2015)4. In addition it is unfortunate that many unhealthy choices are available at his lunch room at school.
Since the child is 9 years old, the parent needs to properly counsel the child to avoid peer pressure. This is evident in the instances where Brighton is continually consuming a lot of sugary foods in school during lunch break. This is resulting from peer pressure where his friends encourage him to engage in unhealthy dietary habits(Fortin &Yazbeck, 2015)5. This can be very difficult for a boy his age. I would recommend increasing the intake of roots, such as carrots and beets which help with sugar cravings, encourage Brig...