We keep reading that childhood obesity is on the rise in the U.S., and in the rest of the world as well as we export our unhealthy diet. Experts tell us that this is the first generation of kids in history that won’t live longer than their parents. We can’t call type 2 diabetes adult-onset diabetes anymore because so many overweight kids have it.

The food industry does its best to get Americans, starting at an early age, addicted (literally) to salt, sugar, and fat (the latter often in the form of added oil). Let’s look at Amy’s Organic Mac and Cheese for example. Parents think that if it’s organic it must be healthy so they buy it. One serving has 400 calories, with 16 grams of total fat including 10 grams of unhealthy saturated fat. It also has 640 grams of salt (the maximum safe daily amount for an adult is 1500 grams, much less for a child). It also contains 6 grams of sugar (1 1/2 teaspoons).

Good nutrition starts in the womb. We know that alcohol during pregnancy causes fetal alcohol syndrome. Eating fish raises levels of harmful PCBs and heavy metals such as mercury in the mother and fetus. Low folate levels—which can be prevented by green leafy vegetables, increase risk for neural tube defects in the fetus.

After birth, breast milk is the ideal food for infants and toddlers. However, the mother’s diet influences what’s in the breast milk. Many pharmaceuticals and environmental toxins can be passed through breast milk. The best way for a breast-feeding mother to avoid transferring pesticides, PCBs, antibiotics, and hormone-disrupting chemicals to her infant is to eat at the bottom of the food chain by sticking to plants.

What we feed our kids can affect their health years down the road as well:

• Heart disease is the number 1 cause of death in the U.S. The endothelium that lines our arteries is damaged by animal fat, added oil, sugar, salt and refined food. This damage causes arteries to constrict and to become prone to develop plaque (hardening of the arteries). The first sign of heart disease, fatty streaks in the endothelium, can occur in newborns of mothers with very high cholesterol. Most kids on the S.A.D. (standard American diet) have evidence of frank hardening of the arteries by their late teens.
• Cancer is the number 2 cause of death in the U.S., and obesity is a major risk factor. For example, fat cells make estrogen, resulting in higher blood levels of estrogen, linked to increased risk of breast cancer. Furthermore, optimal immunity, present in people on a plant-based, whole food diet, is important in preventing cancer. Many types of cancer start months and even years before they are diagnosed. Some of the billions of cells in the human body are always mutating, and if your immune system is optimal the mutant cells are killed off before they replicate and and cause cancer. Diet is clearly linked to several kinds of cancer, particularly breast, prostate, colon, rectum, uterus, and ovaries. The World Health Organization has determined that red meat and processed meat (ham, sausage, lunch meat, bacon) are class 1 carcinogens. Eating poultry is linked to blood cancers.
• Diabetes is a major cause of death and disability. Type 2 diabetes occurs primarily in people with central obesity (extra weight around the middle), and this body habitus is clearly related to diet. In addition, animal products have a diabetogenic (diabetes-causing) effect.
• Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases: Autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and others. Inflammatory diseases include asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. In plant-based populations these diseases are rare.

In summary, what your kids eat has implications for their current health and their health years later. Help them avoid addiction to salt, sugar, fat/oil, and refined food. Avoid fast food outlets, and if you take them to a restaurant avoid the kids’ menu, which typically offers French fries and fried chicken strips, or mac and cheese. Finally, set a good example — be physically active and eat primarily fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds at home and when eating out.

Dr. Greg Feinsinger is a retired family physician who started the non-profit Center For Prevention and Treatment of Disease Through Nutrition. For questions or to schedule a free consultation about nutrition or heart attack prevention contact him at gfmd41@gmail.com or 970-379-5718.