Читать книгу DASH Diet For Dummies - Sarah Samaan - Страница 16

DASH isn’t just for adults who have or are at risk for hypertension. It’s an approach to eating that’s healthy for most children as well. Why talk about DASH and kids? Consider the fact that since the 1970s, American children between the ages of 6 and 11 are now consuming

 Triple the amount of salty snacks

 Nearly double the amount of candy

 More than 40 percent fewer vegetables

 Half the amount of milk

 Twice the amount of soda

It’s no wonder that more than one-third of U.S. kids are overweight or obese and are at risk for developing a condition known as the metabolic syndrome (the result of a cluster of risk factors including obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal blood lipid levels, and elevated blood sugar), which substantially raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The good news is that the DASH diet has the potential to help kids who are heading down this road. For instance, a British study of girls with metabolic syndrome found that after spending just six weeks on DASH, blood pressure and insulin levels were improved compared to those who weren’t assigned to DASH. Another study that simply tracked the diets of young girls over the course of ten years reported that those whose diets simply included two or more servings of dairy and at least three servings of fruits and vegetables daily were one-third less likely to have high blood pressure by the time they hit their late teens.

When it comes to kids, it’s up to parents to provide healthy food options and keep unhealthy snacks to a minimum. DASH keeps it simple by giving you a structure that you can follow to put together nutritious meals for your family. And of course, in Part 4 of this book, we share loads of great recipes that can help you get started. As always, get your pediatrician’s or family doctor’s approval before jumping right in.

Scientists know that sometimes an idea can make perfect sense on paper and fail miserably when put to the test. Without a scientific study that randomly assigns individuals to one diet or another, with as many variables as possible controlled by the research team (what scientists call a randomized, controlled trial), you’re just going on an assumption. You also need to set your goals ahead of time and then conduct the study in such a way that it’s as unbiased as possible. Next, when it’s all said and done, you need to do a detailed statistical analysis and then tidy up the whole mess into a neat and obsessively thorough report. Finally, you submit your work for review by other well-respected and uninvolved scientists (what’s known as peer review). This meticulous attention to detail and strict scientific method are what set DASH apart from so many other diet plans.