Is whole milk good for children between 11-13 years old?

Question

I my nephew is 13 years old, but he is very smart and he always is worried about the heart diseases, most of all Arteriosclerosis; and he only wants food in low fat, low satured fat and low cholesterol, low sodium and carbohydrates.

I think that it's an excellent habit, creating at that early age; but the situation is that he is growing and developing himself, and he only drinks fat free milk, I told him that don't be worried about that; he takes care about himself, makes exercise, he eats healthy, salads, fruits etc.

So what can I do? should I explain him well the situation about this topic? or should I take him with a doctor and he explain to him all these types of things, I will be living with him for 3 weeks, during my sister is out of town, he is 1,60cm tall, and he weights 130lbs.

Any suggestions???

Answer 1

2% milk is less fattening however milk in any form is better than none at all. Sounds like a smart young man especially the rate in which heart disease is killing people - nothing wrong with being aware at his age may lead to a longer healthier life for him

Answer 2

Let him go to the grocery store with you and get some of the things he used to eating. Just go along with him, it's only 3 weeks. We always drank whole milk when I was a kid and there never was a problem, but we didn't have the fast food either. I think most pediatricians are saying 2 percent milk for that age group. I'm not sure if an average kid has to worry about all that stuff (heart disease, etc.)if they eat a balanced diet and they get some exercise every day. However, I don't think it's your place to take him to a doctor. Enjoy your time with him. Tell him he's a good kid to be health conscious, but based upon what you see that he's eating and drinking he doesn't have anything to worry about.

Answer 3

no, cow's milk causes allergies and excess phlegm. Try drinking rice or soy milk. Both taste better than cow's milk and you have no worries about cholesterol or arteriosclerosis because of being plant sourced. Most brands have vit A & D and calcium added to match the same levels as cow's milk. You can also purchase your choice of fat levels from none, 1%, 2% to full fat at about 3-4%.

You should just tell him about your milk preferences and his options and provide him with some different types of soy or rice milk to try and find out what he might like. If he finds something he likes you won't have to convince him of anything except asking for his newly discovered favorite drink. You should not take him to a Dr unless he is sick because after all, he is your sister's child, not yours.

Answer 4

12 months is the reccomended age. I started giving my daughter an extra little drink a day at 11 months, and made it cows milk instead of formula. She has a history of needing to get used to new foods, so I wanted to let her get a bit of a tolerance before she went cold turkey, so to speak. She's done great, and will be 12 months in 2 weeks, and I'll have no worries with switching her over. I would advise weaning your daughter, start her out on one cup a day of cows milk, rather than just switching her straight from breastmilk. See how she tolerates it, and go from there. And it's great about the sippy cup, by 12 months she won't be needing the bottle anyway. Good luck!

Answer 5

Growing children need a certain amount of fat in their systems, totally fat free diet is not healthy for them. If he drinks 2% milk that would be better than skim at his age. Is he of healthy weight? Why is he so concerned over arteriosclerosis at his age? Did someone close to him die of that? There could be an underlying reason behind his food habits, not just to eat healthy. You may want to talk with him about it to find out what is really affecting him so much that he seems to be obsessing about his diet at such a young age.

Answer 6

Whole milk is not good for anybody over the age of two. They can get all the nutrients they need from 2%, 1% or skim without all the fat.

Answer 7

Actually, no. Children over age 2 should drink low-fat milk. This can include 2% milk, but whole milk is more fat than he needs.

Answer 8

Skim milk is best for anyone over the age of 2 years....before age two they need the extra fat in the milk for brain development, but after that the extra fat is stored around their heart. Switch to skim milk and skim milk dairy products.

Answer 9

Whole milk is only needed in children up to about age 2. After that skim or 1% is best.

Answer 10

there is nothing wrong with drinking fat free milk. My children and I have been drinking it for years and can't even drink whole milk anymore it doesn't taste good. I had then start drinking it when they were around nine or ten.