Diet plays a significant role in a child’s health, because it helps their growing organisms to take in all they need to function properly. In day-to-day life, parents are mainly the ones who take care of their children’s diet, but it is also important to provide healthy, nutritious food outside the home. This is what 49% of parents view as the greatest challenge for their children’s diets, according to research by the Children’s Hospital.* The same research, undertaken as part of the Ēstprieks healthy diet movement, showed that 41% of parents come up against challenges to their meal routine; parents state that their children often skip meals or snack between mealtimes, leading to one of their meals being missed.
Other challenges were also named by respondents regarding their children’s diet: 19% stated that their children categorically refused healthy products and meals, while 17% have insufficient funds to buy high-quality, nutritious groceries. Furthermore, some respondents (11%) lack knowledge of what a suitable diet is for the needs and age of their child, and, less often, parents have a difference of opinion on what a child should eat (9%), or face challenges with a special diet prescribed for their child or a food intolerance (4%).
“To help parents solve challenges facing parents regarding their children’s diet, we founded a healthy eating movement Ēstprieks. It helps spread awareness of the significance of a healthy diet for children by educating parents on not only delicious, but also nutritious, local and attractively served food for the benefit of our children’s development,” explains Lizete Puga, Children’s Hospital Nutritionist and creator of the Ēstprieks menu. The nutritionist has developed a special menu specifically for the young patients of the children’s hospital, ensuring that all meals are as varied as possible over a ten-day period and suitable for eight specialised diets.
“Parents’ worry about their children’s diets when outside the home is understandable. Parents cannot always control what their children are offered and how regularly. It creates potential challenges in developing and maintaining healthy eating habits also at home. When a child is in the hospital, the parents focus on the child's feelings, and often they do not have time to take care of a balanced diet - so the hospital should offer as a diverse menu as possible. In our menu we try to combine the wishes of patients, the recommendations of their doctors and the resources of the kitchen, ” nutritionist outlined some of the considerations that have been taken into account when developing the new menu of Ēstprieks and Children's Hospital. "The main thing to consider when creating a child's diet plan is to offer him food that he understands and to find ways to successfully include those products that children like less. Now, the Children's Hospital's young patients are able to enjoy local, balanced, tasty, colourful food which, most importantly, is suitable for their treatment. We hope that this will reduce, at least in part, parents’ fears about what their child eats when not at home, as well as making the young Children’s Hospital patients smile,” adds Lizete Puga.
The survey results also reveal that 29% of parents lack time to cook nutritious, healthy meals. “Maxima Latvija supports healthy food for the whole family both at home and elsewhere. We work every day to ensure that Maxima stores provide healthy, local products that families can enjoy in simply-cooked meals at home. That’s why we are so pleased to be part of Ēstprieks by helping provide healthy, tasty meals to children recovering in the Children’s Hospital, as well as by offering all you need to prepare healthy meals by choosing responsible Latvian producers in our stores—Dobeles dzirnavnieks, Smiltenes piens, Alpro, Baltijas dārzeņi and Ķekava poultry—and donating to the Ēstprieks movement,” shares Maxima Latvija Director of Corporate Affairs department Jānis Beseris.
Public help needed to support the Ēstprieks movement
To ensure as varied a diet as possible for the patients at the Children’s Hospital, we need the help of the public. Anyone can get involved, both supporters and businesses. You can donate to the Ēstprieks movement in all Maxima stores by purchasing products from responsible businesses: Dobeles dzirnavnieks, Smiltenes piens, Alpro, Baltijas dārzeņi and Ķekava poultry. You can also donate by calling 90006681 to donate €1.42. Businesses are asked to contact the project coordinator to donate and offer their products by email: austra.straume@bkus.lv.
*As part of the healthy eating movement Ēstprieks, an online survey was released in collaboration with Norstat to find out the dietary habits of Latvian children and identify the main challenges faced by parents. The survey was undertaken between October 8th and 13th. 720 respondents participated.
More information:
Dace Zaldāte Rozentāle
Head of Communications
Mob: 29207373
Email: dace.zaldate.rozentale@bkus.lv
