MAKING HEALTHY FOOD LOOK APPEALING TO CHILDREN Senior project presentation done by: Mizna Alzamil

THE EFFECTS OF BAD NUTRITION SINCE CHILDHOOD  The spread of life-threatening diseases such as:  Obesity  Hypertension (Also known as high blood pressure)  High cholesterol and heart diseases  Diabetes  Stroke  Gout  Cancer

MISTAKES PARENTS MAKE WHEN FEEDING THEIR CHILDREN  Encouraging kids to “clean their plate”  Offering junk food as “Rewards”  Preventing kids from eating candy and sweets

SOLUTIONS AND TRICKS TO KEEP KIDS AWAY FROM FAST FOOD  Parents should set an example by avoiding fast foods as well calorie-rich snacks and drinks.  Eat most meals at home and pack healthy lunches and snacks before heading  Parents must educate their children on the importance of different nutrients and  Parents should provide examples of food that should be eaten regularly, such as milk and dairy products that include  If asked about why fast food isn’t really good for children, explain the lack of vitamins and the excess of fats and calories that would lead to life threatening diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

WHAT ATTRACTS CHILDREN TO FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS?  fast food chains use one of the most powerful marketing tools such as bribing children with toys to buy the new happy meal.  Many fast food restaurants go so far as to offer a character aimed toward girls and a different character aimed toward boys, which increases their demographic considerably.  Celebrities that endorse fast food restaurants can have similar impacts on the desire children have to eat the food.  Another marketing tool fast food restaurants use to target children is the promise of fun, where some fast food restaurants have on site playgrounds that attract children

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY FOOD APPEALING TO CHILDREN?  Arrange a fruit or vegetable plate creatively.  Let them play with their food. Encourage your children to make a mini forest out of broccoli florets and celery sticks or have a contest to see who can spell their name with fruit and vegetables the fastest.  Tell young children the healthy snacks have special properties. For instance, present spinach as dinosaur food, cherry tomatoes as magic fairy beans, or rice cakes as models of alien saucers.

 Provide dips. Adding a healthy dip option can mask the flavors of certain fruits, vegetables, and grain snacks that your children may not like to eat.  Have your child help prepare the snack. If your child gets to participate in the washing, scooping, cutting, and arranging of the snack, he or she may be more likely to eat it.  Presenting snack time as a fun project that is also edible gets children engaged in making and eating healthy snacks.

WHAT MOTIVATED ME TO DO IT?  Children of today will shape our future.  If people don’t raise awareness now, will they ever?  Health is not something that can be ignored or played with  This is an issue faced by mother all over the world  My mother’s way of presenting healthy food made me tolerate veggies and fruits at a very young age.

GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF MY SURVEY

FINAL PRODUCT  I spent so many time figuring out the perfect final product  I wanted to distribute packed lunches to 4 th graders, but I felt like that wasn’t the perfect product to do so I decided to make an interview with some kids.  I spent a lot of time interviewing kids, it was harder than I thought.  Interviewing was tiring, but editing the videos and adding subtitles was another shape of tiring.  I also created a brochure that would help mothers acknowledge some mistakes they make when feeding their children and giving the perfect solutions for their problems

ProsCons Gaining time management skills Hard work actually pays off A good experience Prepares you for university Teaches you lessons the hard way So little time, having senior project twice a week is not enough Procrastinating Very hard to form a train of thoughts Difficult to put your ideas into words Stress (from other issues)

REFERENCES  Batra, Sukhsatej. How to Keep Kids Away From Fast Food. healthyeating.sfgate.com  Bauer, Joy (2014) Mistakes Parents Make When Feeding Their Kids. joybauer.com joybauer.com  Hendericks, Diane (2012) 5 Ways to Get Kids to Eat Healthy Foods. ABC News.  Hope, Jenny (2011). Danger of a junk food diet for children: Study reveals toddlers who eat more chips, crisps, biscuits and pizza have lower IQ. Daily mail UK.  Ipatenco, Sara. What Attracts Kids to Fast Food?, healthyeating.sfgate.com  Roberts, Michelle (2010) Children will eat more fruit 'as long as it looks good’. BBC News.