Demographic Profile of Children Related to Nutritional Health

The fight by institutions to maintain good eating habits, by changing the school menu, campaigning and guiding parents, has great enemies in the fast-food chains, manufacturers of snacks and sweets. This is called "junk food", i.e. food that tastes good but isn't nutritious or healthy. The number of overweight children is increasing in Brazil and there is no doubt that this will become a major public health problem. Guidance has to come from home, as parents often don't realise that bad daily eating habits are passed on to their children, making it increasingly difficult to change them. Ideally, parents should create proper meals with lots of fruit, salads, vegetables and little fat, as well as avoiding keeping biscuits, crackers, snacks, fatty cheeses, chocolates and anything that is high in fat and calories at home (PARISI, 2004).