Increasing fibre in children’s diets could lessen the incidence of abdominal pain and help curb overeating, says nutritionist Wendy Dahl.
Speaking at the Saskatchewan In Demand trade show in Saskatoon Sept. 15, Dahl said most children are not getting the recommended amount of fibre in their daily diets.
“That leads to constipation and unhealthy guts,” said Dahl of the University of Saskatchewan’s college of pharmacy and nutrition.
She said children’s diets are low in resistant starch and soluble fibre so there’s not a lot of fermentation or production of butyrate, which is a source of energy for cells that keep the lining of the colon healthy.
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The recommended amount of fibre varies by age. A five-year-old should eat 25 grams of fibre a day, which could include fruits and vegetables, cereal, rice, pita or whole wheat bread.
“If we feed them this, it will keep them full longer,” she said.
That could be important in controlling overeating in Canadian children where obesity rates are reaching 25 percent.
She said more children are showing up at medical specialists’ offices with double the growth chart rate or with more weight than their bones can support.
Children commonly complain of stomach pains, which is actually intestinal discomfort, she added.
Dahl said the problem starts after weaning from breast milk because pabulum and cow’s milk are largely devoid of fibre and oligosaccharides.
Fibre is necessary because it makes bowel movements softer, easier to pass and more frequent.
In a study of 20 children, she will compare participants on a high fibre diet with those on a regular meal plan.
The study will look at how children fared on each diet, examine symptoms and learn if trips to the bathroom were more evenly spaced.
One half of participants will eat two fibre-fortified snack foods and inulin, which is a 97 percent fibre powder that can be dissolved in drinks.
The university lab has prepared 10 high fibre foods that look and taste like familiar foods such as krispie cake, cereal and granola bars.
Dahl blamed busier lifestyles and a switch to more packaged, convenience food as contributing to a decline in fibre intake.
She was critical of schools whose noon hour break often allows less than 30 minutes to eat a lunch before children are herded outdoors.
“How can a Grade 1 child eat a sandwich and drink in 12 minutes?” she said.
“It takes time; you have to chew these foods.”
Parents often give in to children’s requests for fruit snack products because they are tired of seeing the apples return home uneaten.
Dahl conceded a switch to healthy eating won’t happen overnight, so suggested replacing white bread with fortified white bread and sugary pop with diet beverages.
Food processors could also do more to infuse greater amounts of fibre into products that target children without jeopardizing taste.
She cautioned parents about high calorie children’s beverages, particularly juices, which should be limited to one cup per day in children.
“They’re providing very little feelings of fullness and satisfaction, so they’re most dangerous,” she said.
