Report Says Parents Are More Concerned About Good Nutrition Than Calorie Counting

A report from the Dietary Guidelines Alliance says that American parents aren’t particularly interested in monitoring calories consumed by their children, and think it impractical anyway, even when they know what a calorie is (many don’t). Much more important to parents is serving nutritious foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low-fat dairy and being physically active. Seventy-four 74 percent of parents feel that there should be a balance between the amount of food and beverages consumed and the amount of physical activity. An important message to convey to parents, according to the report, is that they should become committed to “consistent physical activity” but in a fun family context so that children will learn healthy activity habits from their most important role models.