For healthy eating among children recently guidelines recommendations have been set, presented in “MyPyramid for Kids” at the Ministry of Agriculture of the United States (USDA) (see picture below). The pyramid is based on physical exercise to point out that both healthy eating and physical activity together define a healthy lifestyle for children. Moreover, according to the American Heart Association for children and adolescents, the diet should be based on fruits and vegetables, whole wheat products, dairy products with low or no fat (except dairy products for young children who must be full fat), beans, fish and fresh meat. In conclusion, they emphasize the low intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol and foods with added sugar and salt. The proportion of calorie intake and physical activity is good to maintain a normal weight and also to provide sufficient quantities of trace elements.
The consumption of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables enriches the diet of children with important plant nutrients, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that are essential for a healthy diet, while enhancing significantly the development of mechanisms of defence against chronic diseases.

• 0-4 month’s lactation
• 5-12 months ablactation
• > 1 year of progressive adult diet beginning

Except the mother’s (or standard) milk, a baby should begin to eat other foods at about the age of four to six months old. The teeth start to come out and about at this age, the infant gradually develops the ability to swallow solid foods. Giving the child a spoon to eat and a glass of liquid, we are helping to learn to swallow. When the infant reaches the age of nine months to a year, he can stand and catch objects and giving him food that he can eat only with his hands, we help him to develop the skill of his hands.
The replacement of exceptional quality and completeness of breast milk in the diet of children with a nutritious diet, is a big challenge for parents, which is something they do with great care. During breastfeeding, the infant takes the best food: the mother`s milk. The 50% and more of calories contained in breast milk comes from fat, which make it have a high calorific value and helps in developing the brain and the nervous system. Then the child who is growing rapidly, should add more calories in the diet, derived from carbohydrates and protein, as well as the fiber, minerals and vitamins. The aim is to gradually achieve balanced proportion of calories from carbohydrates, proteins and fats that takes an adult and which characterize a typical healthy diet (15% protein, 55% carbohydrates, 30% fat) until the end of the second year of life. Cereals are the main source of carbohydrates for a child after ablactation. In conclusion, the baby food based on flour and cereals and soups and pasta compact, may be included in the diet of the baby. The size and texture of the pasta is compact are ideal to facilitate the transition from a liquid diet to solid food consumption.

Simple sugars are also easily absorbed, but faster than the complex carbohydrates, leading to a rapid rise in blood glucose levels by reducing the feeling of fatigue and hunger. However, regular consumption of large quantities quickly splitting carbohydrates can increase the likelihood of chronic diseases appearance such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In conclusion, it is important to check the consumption of sugars during childhood to prevent such situations in adulthood. Moreover, refined sugars increase the caloric content and decrease the nutrient content of foods providing `empty calories` and, simultaneously, a risk factor for dental problems (especially when eaten as a snack without something else). For this reason, the intake of simple sugars should not exceed 10-12% of daily calorie intake. For children who eat more simple sugars (due to the high consumption of milk, juice and pastries) the recommended intake should be lower than 15%. Children should prefer the baked goods between sweets, such as biscuits and cakes, which contain more complex carbohydrates, and limit the consumption of products rich in sucrose and fat, like chocolate, etc. .. Dietary fiber should also be part of child nutrition after weaning in small quantities of course, in order to be tolerated by the young body. This helps the child to reach out to the final target of 30 grams daily as an adult.
The recruitment of the necessary data can be obtained if the children follow a healthy diet with enough grains, preferably whole wheat, fruits and vegetables. However, because children  usually do not like these foods, the inclusion of the correct amount of fiber in their diet is important to be achieved and it is often a challenge for parents.

Carbohydrates should form the staple diet of children. Complex carbohydrates, such as those contained in foods such as bread and whole wheat pasta, should be preferred. Whole wheat products also contain higher amount of dietary fiber. • The intake of simple sugars should be limited in both children and adults. Fresh fruits are a better source of sugar than fruit processed for juice, juices and the other sweetened drinks. The glycemic index as concept is relevant to the health of children and foods with low glycemic index should be preferred.

The quality of the protein consumed plays a crucial role in determining the protein needs of the individual. Both the digestibility of proteins and their composition (amino acid profile) affect the extent of protein used and obtained through the diet from the human body. Animal proteins (milk, eggs, meat and fish) are more qualitative, have a higher content of essential amino acids (which can not create the human body itself) and is more palatable. Vegetable proteins usually contain a lower amount of essential amino acids, but since they are included in the diet of many different sources of vegetable protein, we can ensure the recruitment of sufficient quantity of protein.
The proteins in breast milk are regarded as the ideal source of protein for infants up to first year. Thereafter and until the age of 13 years, the composition of proteins varies gradually. From the age of 13 years, the quality of protein from the diet may be likened to that of adults.

In infants’ nutrition, milk, fish, chicken, egg and meat are the best sources of protein. Besides high quality protein, the above foods add on food vitamins and essential minerals in the diet.
The vegetable proteins from legumes are also important and can be regarded as a food matching alternative to animal proteins, when combined with cereals (eg pasta with beans). Following a diet characterized by a variety of foods, it is succeeded the right balance between animal and plant proteins which are recruited while avoiding the intake of large quantities of fat from animal foods.

Energy consumption from the physical activity varies greatly from child to child and from day to day. A 10-year-old boy makes a sedentary life, weighs 40 pounds and watches TV three hours a day without doing sports, do not need more than 1670 calories (7000 kJ). By contrast, the same boy, with a more active lifestyle (ie one hour of intense exercise a day) may need 2390 calories (10000 kJ).

Nutritional variety and nutrients

When pasta is served as a first dish, it is advisable to choose smaller pasta. Long noodles, like spaghetti, are not the most appropriate for young children who have not yet learned to handle fork easily.

The children usually like sauces with tomatoes and tuna. You can also serve pasta with a little tuna and sage, a simple dish that has many chances to like children.
As a main course, it would be a distraction from the traditional choice of “a piece of meat”. You can choose from a wide variety of meat existing in the market, from chicken to pork tenderloin and veal steak, offering ever in your little “guests” new and different tastes so they do not get bored of the same foods. A simple and effective solution would be to add the classic Scaloppini a small lemon or vinegar.

Another typical cliché is that the fish does not like to the children. Do not limit yourself to fish with white meat. Instead of the usual language and haddock, try to learn children to eat more fish such as perch (which should be cut into thin slices and remove all the bones) or a bass that you can just fry with a little oil, with a sprig of rosemary and a clove of garlic (which you will remove from the food before serving).

SOME GENERAL ISSUES 

Competitive swimming, for example, requires short periods of intense physical exercise (swimming a few hundred meters at best possible time). If you re talking about swimming long distance swimming, the energy consumption is not as strong, but necessary energy reserves are demanded for much longer. Diving, on the other hand, are characterized by brief but repeated efforts. Moreover, in sports such as canoeing, kayaking, water skiing and sailing, a completely different category parameters must be taken into consideration as the microclimate (humidity, wind and low temperatures), which may require very specific nutritional strategies.

All these issues are even more important for people involved in professional sport, people who must strictly adhere to very specific nutritional programs and sports programs. The non-professional athletes who just love the water only need to follow a balanced diet, which should generally be based on the following ratios of the total daily calorie intake: 55-60% carbohydrates, 10-15% protein and 25 30% fat – in other words the same proportions that are the staple diet of any healthy adult.

Many people believe that athletes who participate in water sports should significantly increase the percentage of protein consumed, which is not necessarily true. One athlete who followed a regular exercise program should simply hire more calories than someone who follows a more athletic or non-living lifestyle, but his/hers diet program must comply with the ratios mentioned above. Thus, athletes who train often must follow a high-calorie diet, in which the protein is such that it can support a greater muscle mass and the enormous pressure exerted on it.

BEFORE AND AFTER SPORT

There is a special precaution to be taken by persons involved in sports, which has to do with the interval that should elapse from eating until the start of exercise. For swimmers and other athletes WHO should enter in the water, it is necessary to expect to spend at least three hours from the time they finish heir meal. It will need to consume a light but nutritious meal so they do not burden their bodies, and at the same time to supply it with sufficient energy in order to be able to meet the extremely demanding exercise program they follow. For example, a plate of pasta with a simple tomato sauce, accompanied by vegetables and a diet high in protein (meat, cheese or fish that do not exceed 80 grams.) are the perfect meal. You should  always have in mind that it takes six to eight hours the food that is consumed into energy to be transformed.

After a rigorous exercise program it is good to refill your batteries with a lightweight, balanced and rich in vitamins snack. Bathing an hour, we burn about 500-600 calories. Remember that when you are in the water you should always eat more calories just to maintain the temperature of your body. Remember to drink plenty of fluids.

As for water sports which do not require direct contact with water, such as sailing and canoeing, but require great physical effort, it is a good idea to eat a light and nutritious snack about an hour ago. It could be a fresh fruit or a juice, a piece of cake without filling, two biscuits with jam or honey or a small yogurt. It`s also good to have with you your water and very sweet drinks (without added sugar), such as fruit juice.

Finally, athletes should eat foods from all categories, especially fresh foods without any special treatment, and to try to limit their consumption of animal fats and proteins. The rules for the quantities to be consumed are simple: never overdo it and, above all, do not skip meals.