Swiss physician Max Bircher-Benner who lived at the beginning of the century used to assert: "The three crucially important factors for the health and future life or our children are: biochemical individuality and congenital factors, psychics events of infancy, and diet. Diet rules are basically the same both for children and adults; but violations of such rules during the development phase may determine unpleasant consequences during the child's future life."

Research carried out by Italy's National Institute for Nutrition has shown that more than 30% of children between 6 and 11 weigh more than the average, and almost certainly will be obese adults. Nutritionists recommend that the calories required for a child's growth should contain a maximum of 28%-30% of fats; quite frequently the caloric content of fats in children's diets is higher than 40%!

Olive Oil during infancy:
The use of olive oil in weaning foods is ideal for its optimal ratio of linoleic and linolenic acid, and for its high content in monounsaturated oleic acid, very important for bone mineralization and brain development. Olive oil has a good ratio between saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, is highly digestible and contains essential fatty acids: therefore it can be considered a proper food for infants from their 4th-5th month of life.

Nutritional Suggestions

Children's and especially the infant's diets shall not only be balanced as regards calories, but also for each type of protein, glycid, lipid, in order to give the growing body a correct supply of nutrients.

Calorie requirements:

• from 0 to 6 months: 117 Kcal per kg. body weight;
• from 6 to 12 months: 108 Kcal per Kg. body weight;
• from 1 to 2 years: 90 Kcal per Kg. body weight;
• from 2 to 6 years: 85 Kcal per Kg. body weight;
• up to puberty: 75 Kcal per Kg. body weight.

Parents need to instruct their children on how to choose the most suitable and natural foods. However a meal should not become an ordeal of prohibition and prodding; when children have learned self-discipline, they discover the greater pleasure in discrimination in the world of food.