לא הלעלות

כאשר אמהות מוסיפות יותר פירות וירקות לצלחת, בנותיהן יעשו זאת גם כן, כך עולה ממחקר חדש.

יתירה מזאת, אמהות שאכלו תזונה עשירה בפירות וירקות נטו פחות ללחוץ על בנותיהן לאכול יותר, ובנותיהן נטו פחות להיות מה שקרוי "מפונקות באוכל".

הורים רבים מודאגים מאכילה קפדנית של ילדיהם. במחקר הנוכחי ילדות שהיו קפדניות בנושאי תזונה בצורה אופיינית אכלו פחות פירות וירקות מאשר אכלנים בריאים יותר.

החוקרים דיווחו כי כל הבנות, בין אם היו בררניות באוכל ובין אם לא, היו חסרות מרכיבים תזונתיים כמו סידן ומגנזיום.

יתירה מזאת, אכלנים קפדניים אכלו פחות שומן וסוכר, ונטו פחות לסבול מעודף משקל מאשרילדות שלא היו היו כאלו.

"Picky eating has both costs and potential benefits," said Galloway, who is based at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. "Our findings show that all girls would benefit from consuming more fruits and vegetables, so it may not be worth it for parents to single out picky eaters."

During the study, Galloway and her colleagues interviewed 173 mothers and their 7-year-old white, non-Hispanic daughters about eating habits, and whether mothers pressured their girls to eat more. When girls turned 9, the researchers contacted them again and determined if they were picky eaters, meaning they only ate a few foods, often refused to eat family meals, and were picky or fussy about what they ate.

Overall, mothers who ate more fruits and vegetables had daughters who ate more fruits and vegetables, Galloway and her team report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Girls whose mothers put pressure on them to eat at age 7 were more likely to be picky eaters at age 9. Picky eaters ate less fruits and vegetables, and were at greater risk of not getting enough vitamins E and C than were non-picky eaters. Picky eaters also ate less fiber.

However, picky eaters were less likely to be overweight and were not underweight. All girls in the study lacked vitamin E, calcium and magnesium, Galloway said.

"Most of the girls in our study, regardless of whether they were picky eaters, did not consume recommended quantities of fruits and vegetables," she said. "Our findings indicate that (picky eating) might not be as big of a problem as we have assumed."

Galloway added that the same trends may not be present in young boys, because parents often have different weight expectations for their sons, which may affect parental pressure to eat and boys' eating habits.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April 2005.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

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