We are seeing a whole generation of children grow up to be junk food junkies. This habit is firmly established in childhood, although parents often do not see that their child is really affected. Suzannah Olivier, author of Healthy Food for Happy Kids, tells us how to minimise the junk

It is easy to think that giving in to crisps or sodas is OK because, say, your child does not have a weight problem and so it really doesn't matter what he eats, or he's growing just fine, or it's better to eat something rather than nothing. But occasional habits become frequent ones and before you know it you have a teenager on your hands who will eat nothing but junk and you are throwing your hands up in despair.

Of course it doesn't mean that you need to be such a purist that your child never has even one taste of junk or fast food - this is also probably not practical given that they will be going to birthday parties and visiting other people's houses. But if you find that these foods dominate, your child is likely to be losing out in the health stakes.

Health problems
Children are getting taller (and wider!) because they are getting more than enough calories for their growth. But they are not getting healthier, because, while junk foods provide plenty of calories, these calories are depleted of the nutrients needed for basic good health. Junk food habits are contributing to a number of health problems in children:

Tiredness, listlessness and lack of energy
Lack of enthusiasm about physical activity
Mood swings, irritability or restlessness
Unpredictable behaviour
Constipation or loose bowels
Weight problems
Pale skin, dull hair, dark shadows under eyes
Tummy aches, nausea, headaches
Frequent colds, infections or other illnesses
Poor concentration

All things in moderation
It is commonly said by nutritionists that there is no such thing as a bad food, just a bad diet. What they mean is that any food can be incorporated into a diet as long as it is in the right proportion. A little sweetie won't do any harm if the main diet is focused on healthy foods. But any parent who has been faced with a child attempting to eat a whole packet of jelly-filled, sugar-coated marshmallows washed down with a cola, knows that there is such a thing as really bad food.

With a young child you have the advantage of a blank sheet and you can educate that child's palate, habits and mind set. Even as they grow older and more independent, by establishing a taste for real food early on you have done valuable 'programming' which can be relied upon to create a healthy framework, even if they stray from time to time, or for whole chunks of time, later on.

If you have only recently overhauled the family's eating habits, however, and older children are being 're-educated', you may have more of a struggle on you hands. The trick is not to give up and to be consistent in your approach. If you keep going, eventually you will make a difference. You will just need to go slowly and keep praising any positive changes that are made.

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