This is a picture of my boyfriend I took at his home. His name is Richard Chow, 9 years old, born in USA and in third grade. Since he needs to be more alert, concentrate and be physically active he needs to consume an optimal amount of energy (calorie) everyday. Richard performs well in school because he takes his breakfast regularly. His breakfast frequency is positively correlated with his reported quality of school work. If he skipped breakfast he would have been poorer in academics and therefore children should be encouraged to eat breakfast.
Normal weight children who skip breakfast gain weight relative to overweight children who eat breakfast nearly every day. Overweight children who never eat breakfast may lose body fat, but normal weight children do not. Increase in energy intake and decrease in physical activity are the primary environment influences on childhood obesity (Berkey, Rockell, Gillman, Field & Colditz, 2003, p1258-1260). Overweight and obesity in children is epidemic worldwide. Approximately 22 million children under 5 years of age are overweight across the world.
Elevated blood pressure, dyslipidermia, and higher prevalence of factors associated with insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes appear as frequent co-morbidities in the overweight and obese pediatric population (Richard J. D & Christine L. W, 2001, p239S). This is a picture of taken after Halloween of different flavors of chocolates Richard’s family received. Richard normally takes 5 chocolates per day. The palatable energy-dense foods have been associated with diminished satiety, “passive overconsumption” of fats and sweets, and higher energy intakes overall.
In contrast, bulky foods with high water content are said to promote a feeling of fullness, which leads to reduced energy intakes both at the test meal and throughout the day. The energy density of foods is a function of their water content. Whereas energy-dilute foods are heavily hydrated, energy-dense foods are dry and may also contain fat, sugar, or starch. Potato chips (23 kJ/g), chocolate (22 kJ/g), and doughnuts (18 kJ/g) are examples of energy-dense foods (Adam Drewnowski & SE Specter, 2004, p8). This explains why Richard intake of chocolate is high as compared to if he took a cup of drinking chocolate.
The possibility that he takes a second cup of drinking chocolate is reduced by the high water content that dilutes the energy within. A piece of chocolate on the other hand is lowly hydrated and therefore does not easily give some form of fullness. If not checked this will graduate to being overweight and later to obesity. I have been advising Richard to take no more than a piece of chocolate a day if he cannot avoid at all and instead take a cup of drinking chocolate that is satisfying yet with low energy content.