A new study suggests the answer may be yes!  

We all try to do out best when it comes to feeding our children. Sometimes we are faced with the decision as to what kind of product would best - the “real thing” or a diet version of the same product. So should you feed your child real soda or diet soda? (or no soda at all!). Low fat frozen yogurt or Skinny Cow fat free fudge bars or Hagen Daz ice cream? Regular pudding or diet pudding? Regular salad dressing or diet salad dressing?

 I know that many parents are concerned (and rightly so) about their child’s weight. Combine this concern with a mother who is dieting and it is likely the child may also get served diet food. The following study done at University of Alberta suggests that diet foods and drinks for children may inadvertently lead to overeating and obesity.

A team of researchers contends that animals learn to connect the taste
of food with the amount of caloric energy it provides, and children who
consume low-calorie versions of foods that are normally high in calories may develop distorted connections between taste and calorie content, leading them to overeat as they grow up.

The research will be published today in the academic journal Obesity.

“Based on what we’ve learned, it is better for children to eat healthy,
well-balanced diets with sufficient calories for their daily activities
rather than low-calorie snacks or meals,” said Dr. David Pierce, a
University of Alberta sociologist and lead author of the paper.

The researchers conducted a series of elaborate experiments that proved substituting low-calorie versions of foods and drinks led to overeating in a sample of young rats, including ones that were lean and ones that were genetically obese. Although both lean and obese rats overate during their regular meals, the added calories have more serious health implications for obese animals.

Adolescent rats that were also fed diet foods did not display the same
tendency to overeat. The researchers believe the older rats did not
overeat because they, unlike the younger rats, relied on a variety of
taste-related cues to correctly assess the energy value of their food.

“The use of diet food and drinks from an early age into adulthood may
induce overeating and gradual weight gain through the taste conditioning process that we have described,” Pierce said.

Pierce added that his team’s “taste conditioning process” theory may
explain “puzzling results” from other studies, such as a recent one from researchers at the University of Massachusetts, who found links between diet soda consumption (among children”) and a higher risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but further research is necessary with older animals using a variety of taste-related cues.

“One thing is clear at this point,” Pierce said, “our research has shown
that young animals can be made to overeat when low-calorie foods and drinks are given to them on a daily basis, and this subverts their
bodies’ energy-balance system.

“Parents and health professionals should be made aware of this and knowthat the old-fashioned ways to keep children fit and healthy—insuring they eat well-balanced meals and exercise regularly—are the best ways. Diet foods are probably not a good idea for growing youngsters.”

My opinion…

1. I agree that serving well- balanced healthy meals to your children and encouraging them to be active are the 2 most important things you can do for their health.

2. Base your family’s meals on lean proteins, vegetables and whole grains. I realize that not all families (especially in NYC!) cook but you can also get healthy take-out foods for dinner.  

3. Include moderate amounts of heart healthy fats such as olive oil, canola oil, avocado, nuts and nut butters in the diet. You do not need to create fat phobia in your child by serving only fat free products.

4. While fruit or yogurt are probably the best types of snacks for your child, I see no problem with including “treats” such as cookies or ice cream into their diet on occasion - assuming the bulk of their diet is based on healthy foods. 

5. There is no problem with buying some low fat, low sugar or other “diet foods”. For example, I think low fat dairy products (i.e. milk, cheese, sour cream, etc) are a good idea as to help lower the saturated fat content of your childs diet.  Children under the age of 2 should still drink regular milk.

6. I also feel that it is important for the parents to set a good example when it comes to eating as children often emulate what they see their parents doing. If a parent is always talking about their diet foods, it is likely the child will want the same food. Of course, I am NOT suggesting all parents load up on the bowls of Hagen Daz every night - but just talk  more about eating for health rather then diet or weight.

7. Bottom line, I do not think serving your child a diet food such as fat free frozen yogurt or low fat salad dressing will cause weight gain. I think the problem could occur (it the results of this study prove to be true in humans) if we consistently feed our children dietetic products such as diet soda and other drinks made from artificial sweeteners and/or have too little fat in their diet by only buying fat free products. Just my opinion!

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