What bad eating habits are we teaching our kids?

Parents may be making big blunders when they teach their kids to finish their food, and by placing restrictions on undesirable foods, according to a Scientific American Frontiers program titled "Fat and Happy?" The program asserts that children know instinctively when they become full, and teaching them to clean their plate causes them to ignore that instinct, leading to overeating. Also, placing restrictions on junk foods creates a "forbidden fruit" effect, which actually increases the children's desire for the restricted foods. Watch the following clip to see the children's reactions to different food control techniques, and the surprising results.



The next clip talks about the relationship between children's activity levels and their eating habits. It contains some good information as well.



You can view the rest of the video clips from the show on Scientific American Frontier's website. Some of it is pretty informative and eye opening. You may just end up changing your eating habits.