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Please personalize this quiz by entering your child's name below.
Once we tally your child's results, you'll be able to print the page
for your records.
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1) Vegetables
This section allows you to evaluate the average number of ½
cup servings of vegetables that your child eats each day.
five servings
four servings
three servings
two servings
one serving
No veggies.
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Vegetables include, but are not limited to, artichoke,
asparagus, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots,
cauliflower, cucumber, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard
greens, onions, peas, peppers, potato, pumpkin, radish, salsa, spinach,
squash, sweet potato, tomato, turnip greens and zucchini.
Do not include fries in your count.
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#2) Protein
For this question you'll need to estimate your child's average daily
intake over the last three to four months. Also, do not count any
fried foods in this category (such as fried fish or fried chicken).
For all answers, "good protein" includes nuts, legumes
fish, poultry, or eggs.
More than three servings per day of good protein
Three servings per day of good protein
Two servings per day of good protein
One serving per day of good protein
Zero servings per day of good protein
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Nuts (including peanut butter that does not contain
trans fat [look for the word "hydrogenated" on the label]),
legumes, eggs, lean meats, fish, and lean poultry (chicken or turkey
that is not fried) are high-quality protein.
Research has shown that an egg or two a day does not harm your child's
heart and health. In fact, egg yolks contain powerful phytochemicals
that promote eye health. Meats low in saturated fats, such as light-meat
poultry without the skin (grilled or broiled), can add good protein
to your child's diet with a minimum of bad fat. If your child is
a vegetarian, he or she can get adequate protein from non-meat sources.
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#3) Whole Grains
This section allows you to evaluate the average number of servings
of whole grains your child eats each day.
three or more servings of whole grains
two servings of whole grains
one serving of whole grains
No whole grains
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Healthy whole-grain foods such as whole wheat, brown
rice, or oatmeal are good sources of fiber, minerals, and some vitamins.
Whole-grain cereals or snack bars with minimal sugar content can
be good breakfast choices for children. Stone-ground whole-grains
are also excellent and fairly easily found at most grocery stores.
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#4) Fruits
This section allows you to evaluate the average number of ½
cup or whole piece servings of fruits your child eats each day. A
six ounce serving of 100 percent fruit juice equals one fruit serving-but
don't count fruit juice on this question.
four or more servings of fruit
three servings of fruit
two servings of fruit
one serving of fruit
No servings of fruit.
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Fruits are incredibly healthy for children, packed
as they are with healthy fiber, water, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Healthy fruits include, but are not limited to, apples, berries,
cantaloupe, currents, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, kumquat, honeydew,
kiwi fruit, mango, nectarines, orange, papaya, peaches, pineapple,
plums, prunes, rhubarb, tangerine, strawberries, and watermelon.
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#5) Dairy and Calcium
This section allows you to evaluate either the average number of
servings of calcium-containing foods (non-fat yogurt, non-fat milk,
low-fat cheeses, soy-based products, whole grains, legumes, and calcium-fortified
orange juice) or the calcium supplements your child ingests each day.
Children and adolescents who cannot or will not consume adequate amounts
of calcium from dietary sources should use mineral supplements.
three or more servings or a calcium supplement taken at two or three
meals a day
two servings or a calcium supplement with only one meal
one serving
No dairy products or calcium supplement
Now, let's turn our attention to the second SuperSize health wheel.
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The amount of calcium needed by a child (800 mg per
day for four to eight year olds, and 1300 mg per day for nine to
eighteen year olds), however, cannot be obtained from the vast majority
of multivitamins.
Remember that calcium is best absorbed when taken with food and
the average child cannot absorb more than 300 to 500 mg of calcium
at any one meal.
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#6) Fast Food
For this section, consider the number of times your child ate at
a fast food restaurant each month, on average, over the last three
or four months.
Not at all.
one to two times per month
two to three times per month
one time per week
two to three times per week
More than four days of the week
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By the way, as we discuss in chapter nine, if your
child can go to a fast-food restaurant and order a highly healthy
meal (say a fruit salad or a healthy turkey sandwich with a cup
of water), then don't count that in this question. Likewise, if
you child goes to a "sit-down" restaurant and eats unhealthy
meals there, then count those on this question.
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#7) Soft Drinks
Most parents know that soft drinks and sodas are not the healthiest
choice they can make for their children. Even diet soft drinks would
come in a distant second to 100 percent fruit juice or water. For
this question, estimate your child's intake of soft drinks and sodas:
Doesn't or rarely downs soft drinks or sodas
Less than six ounces one to three days per week
Less than six ounces per day
six to twelve ounces per day (twelve ounces is the average size can
of soda)
thirteen to twenty-four ounces per day
More than twenty-four ounces per day
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The acids used to carbonate and flavor these beverages
can damage your child's teeth and may even weaken their bones. Soft
drinks lack any real nutritional content.
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#8) Water
Water plays an essential role in maintaining health. Younger people
need more fluids than adults, for the simple reason that their bodies
are still growing-and demanding the hydration found in plain water.
Drinks one 8-ounce cup of water (or water equivalent) eight times
a day, six to seven days a week.
Drinks one 8-ounce cup of water (or water equivalent) four to five
times a day, four to five days a week.
Drinks one 8-ounce cup of water (or water equivalent) three times
a day, four to six days a week.
Drinks one 8-ounce cup of water (or water equivalent) two to three
times a day, two to four days a week.
Seldom drinks water (or water equivalents) at or between meals (less
than one to two 8-ounce cups of water a day.
Drinks water (or water equivalent) rarely.
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Of all the drinks available to our children, it's
impossible to improve on fresh, pure, cool water, which God invented
for us. Drinking water is one highly healthy habit that can last
for a lifetime.
For this question, estimate how many times a day your child drinks
water. And we'll count no-fat (skim) milk or tea without sugar as
a "water equivalent" for this measure.
In addition, a serving of fruit counts as a "water equivalent"
(from question #4).
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#9) Fruit Drinks
To be labeled as a fruit juice, the Food and Drug Administration
mandates that a product be 100 percent fruit juice. Any beverage less
than 100 percent fruit juice must list the percentage of the product
that is not fruit juice, and the beverage must include a descriptive
term, such as "drink," "beverage," or "cocktail."
For this section, you need consider both:
(1) your child's intake of 100 percent fruit juice and
(2) your child's intake of fruit "drinks," "beverages,"
or "cocktails."
For Children two to six years old:
Six or fewer ounces per day
Seven to twelve ounces per day
Thirteen to eighteen ounces per day
Nineteen to twenty-four ounces per day
More than twenty-five ounces per day
Fruit "drinks," "beverages," or "cocktails"
seven days a week
-OR-
For Children seven to eighteen years old:
No more than twelve ounces
Thirteen to eighteen ounces
Nineteen to twenty-four ounces
Twenty-five to thirty-six ounces
More than thirty-six ounces
Fruit "drinks," "beverages," or "cocktails"
seven days a week
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In general, juice drinks contain between ten percent
and 99 percent juice, and almost all add sweeteners.
Excessive juice or fruit drink consumption may contribute
to the development of obesity. One study found a link between fruit
juice intake in excess of twelve ounces per day and obesity.
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#10) Sweets & Unhealthy Snacks
Many nutrition experts tell us that highly processed foods with high
concentrations of simple sugars (sweets) should be eaten rarely, if
at all. Most snack foods fall into this category. Once again, think
of your child's average intake over the last three to four months.
Less than once a week.
one small serving one to two times per week
one small serving three to four times per week
one small serving five to six times per week
one small serving seven times per week
Large servings of sweets on some days OR sweets more than once a day
Now, let's turn our attention from the nutritional wheels to the
activity wheels.
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Sweets and many snack foods contain "empty calories"
that may contribute to weight gain and diabetes.
For this section, don't count soft drinks or sugar containing fruit
drinks. Think more in terms of solid or frozen sweets or dessert-type
foods (i.e., cakes, pies, ice cream, candy bars, chips, cookies,
etc.).
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