Wednesday, May 20, 2009

How Many Calories Should My Seven-Year-Old Daughter Eat?

Hi,
How many calories in a day should a 7 year old girl get? We are not putting our child on a diet, don't worry. Just trying to eat healthy as a family. My daughter tends to overeat so we just want to make sure we stay around the recommended calorie range for her age. Obesity runs in my husband's family.
Thanks, Michelle

Hi Michelle,
I'm glad you aren't putting your 7 year old on a diet ;)

Here is a guideline for children--it's not specific to calories as much as it is to healthy eating.
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk_poster2.pdf

It would be very difficult to count all the calories your daughter eats every day in every food and there's really no reason to... if she looks like she has too much body fat, simply cut down on the "junk" foods like cookies, ice cream, soda, and other treats that do not add nutrition to her diet, and replace these with fruits, yogurt, and graham crackers, for example, to give more nutrition with fewer calories.

The http://www.mypyramid.gov/ website also has games and posters for children so she can get interested in participating in her own healthy eating plan.
It's great that you are being proactive in providing a healthy diet for your child before she is overweight and before she is old enough to have established poor eating habits.

In my opinion, you are giving her the best gift a parent can give!
Laurie

No comments:

Post a Comment