For parents, a typical scene at the dinner table would be this: a child who adamantly refuses to eat her vegetables and a mother or a father who adamantly refuses to give in.  It will be followed by the sound of a crying child and parents who threaten that dessert won’t be served until the veggies on the plate are finished.

This is an all too common scenario in almost every home.  The market is overflowing with junk foods that children nowadays have lost interest in eating right and eating healthy. Aside from the obvious problems that this kind of eating habit poses, such as obesity, this may also cause health problems when these children turn into adults later on in life.

A group of Finnish researchers have conducted a study on the effects of eating right, specifically targeting children.  The results of the study revealed that children who are in the habit of eating a lot of vegetables and fruits have arteries that are less stiff and are much healthier during young adulthood as compared to children who do not eat as much fruits and vegetables.  The results of the study were published in the Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

What is Atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis is no joke.  It is one of the major causes of stroke and heart attack which can leave a person severely paralyzed, or worse, even dead. The danger lies in the fact that atherosclerosis slowly develops and is insidious in nature.  Oftentimes, a person would not know that he has atherosclerosis until the vessel is at the brink of collapse or rupture, or the diameter has become so small that blood can hardly pass through.

The symptoms may vary from person to person – it usually depends on which artery is affected. The most common are chest pain (angina pectoris), chronic high blood pressure and dizziness.

Fruits and Vegetables and Atherosclerosis

As part of the study, the researchers did a comparison of the lifestyle factors of the 1,622 Finn participants during childhood and adulthood with the stiffness of their arteries.  Factors that were included in the study comprised of smoking, alcohol use and the intake of fruits and vegetables.  The subjects, whose baseline age is between 3 and 18, were observed for 27 years. The stiffness of their arteries was measured with the use of a pulse wave velocity.

Dr. Mika Kahonen, PhD, one of the researchers, explained that a pulse wave is created as the heart beats.  This is caused by the ejection of blood.  The velocity of the pulse wave relies on how stiff the walls of the arteries are. There appears to be a direct correlation between the wall’s stiffness and the velocity.  Thus, the stiffer the wall is, the higher is the pulse wave velocity.  Arterial stiffness is linked to a medical condition called atherosclerosis, simply defined as hardening of the blood vessel, specifically the arteries.  Atherosclerosis is a very important factor in the risk for heart disease.  As the arteries become too stiff, the workload of the heart is increased as it has to work harder in order to effectively pump blood so that it will reach distant organs and body parts.  Dr. Kahonen is a professor and also the chief physician at Finland’s Tampere University Hospital’s department of clinical physiology.

Another Reason Not to Skimp on Fruits and Veggies

The results revealed that children who consumed lesser amounts of vegetables had the tendency to exhibit increase pulse wave velocity when they became adults, even though they were adjusted for potential risk factors like the levels of cholesterol in their body. Dr Kahonen and the rest of the team of researchers said that the findings indicated that low intake of vegetables and fruits in a person’s lifetime are associated with arterial stiffness during young adulthood.  This gives paediatricians and parents another reason to persuade children to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables.

How to Convince your Child to Eat Fruits and Vegetables

The result of the study is enough to cause alarm.  This is understandable.  But before you give in to panic attacks, know that there is something you can do to help your child avoid the dreaded atherosclerosis and its complications.

Here are a few tips that may just help you how to convince your child to eat fruits and vegetables:

1. Eat with your child and your family.  Make it a point that you all eat together as family.  This is the perfect time to be a role model for healthy behaviours and healthy eating habits.  Once your child sees that everyone in the family is into eating fruits and vegetables, he will ultimately follow suit.
   
   
2. Stay calm, even in the midst of resistance.  Expect that your child will put up a fight.  With the influx of unhealthy food in your child’s environment, especially in school where some kids’ parents are not into healthy eating, acknowledge the fact that there are negative influences. However, do not resort to making negative comments about your child’s friends, or their families. You would just have to emphasize that in your family, healthy eating is a priority.
   
   
3. Allow your kids to help with food preparation. This will be a time for you to bond with your kids while explaining to them the health benefits of each ingredient.  Alllow your kids to help – and remember to offer lots of praises for a job well done.
   
   
4. Provide healthy choices, but do not overwhelm. During breakfast, for example, ask your child whether she wants bananas or strawberries with her oatmeal.  For dinner, ask whether she’d prefer carrots or broccoli as a side dish. 
   
   
5. Provide fun snacks.  Incorporate fruits and veggies during snack time.  A fruit cup, carrot or celery sticks eaten with their fingers are good choices. You may give these with yogurt, hummus or low-fat dressing for salads.
   
   
6. Grow your own.  Children are fascinated with watching plants grow so asking her to help you plant tomatoes, radishes, peas and more will be a good starting point.  As you plant each seed, remember to incorporate teaching – present the health benefit that each plant brings.
   
   
7. Be patient.  Do not give everything all at once.  Introduce a new food one at a time to help your child adjust to the new taste.  Start with small amounts each day for about a week or two, but do not sweat it too much.  It may take more than a few tries before a child decides whether she likes the food or not.

Sources
nhlbi.nih.gov
healthscout.com
webmd.com