Back-to-school health tips: What’s in your kid’s lunchbox?

Your kids are heading back to school, which means you get a break from keeping an eye on them 24/7. You could be relieved, but you could also be a little worried: who knows what decisions your child will make in the absence of a parent’s watchful eye, especially when it comes to lunchtime. How can you ensure healthy eating habits for your kids when they head back to school? David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Boston Children’s Hospital recently spoke to Boston.com about quick and easy steps parents can take to pack healthy snacks and school lunches for children. Here are a few of the key points: Homemade is almost always healthier School lunch may never have had a great reputation as far as nutrition goes, and things have only gotten worse over the years. Even when you discount obviously unhealthy choices like pizza and fries, hidden salt, artificial flavors and preservatives can tarnish even healthy options provided by many schools. “Almost anything a parent could provide will likely be better than what is served at school,” Ludwig said. “Encouragingly, some districts are aiming to improve the quality of school lunches through collaborations with local farmers, for example.” Leftovers may get a bad rap, but with minimal effort they can often be turned into a quality lunch the following day. “Lunches at our house usually involve some variant of what we had for dinner the night before,” Ludwig said. “Addi...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Back to school back to school health eating healthy food as a family eating well New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Source Type: news