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Most of us tend not to worry about our calorie intake until the point we notice the development of a rather prominent pot belly. The same can be said of children and their parents as well. However, because children tend to be significantly more active and their metabolism happens to be at a much higher ratio – the effects of overeating are usually always burned off before any prominent aesthetic developments occur. Appropriate calorie consumption depends on a number of factors such as the amount of activity the child partakes in over the course of the day as well as the kinds of foods he or she consumes. To get a clearer understanding of the right amount of calorie intake, one should have a good understand of the role that calories play in the human body.
Calories are essentially used p by the human body in order to generate energy that will help the body perform the functions required of it over the course of the day. When too many calories have been consumed, the body will convert the excess intake into fat cells and deposit the excess amounts in cells all over the body. These stored fat cells will be broken down into calories used to generate energy when the body experiences a lack of calorie intake enough to support the energy production requirements. As a result, working out on a regular basis or suddenly changing over to a physically demanding lifestyle will help burn the additional fat cells within the body at a much faster rate. While fiber rich foods are always an essential part of any healthy diet, young children should not consume very high quantities of them because of the fact that they are usually then unable to eat enough quantities of food that will provide them with the adequate nutrients or calories. Starchy foods such as bread, cereal and potatoes offer the best and most balanced calorie intake for children of any age while a high intake of fruits and vegetables is always likely to be beneficial. Plenty of white meat or fish content in the food assures the child’s diet the right amount of vitamins and minerals – including iron, which will all play a role in the metabolism of the child’s body. Instead of providing your child with three large meals over the course of the day, divide his intake into 6 smaller meals, spread out over the course of the day as this will teach his body to manage any calorie intake with more efficiency.
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