Parents are struggling to control and prevent their children from becoming yet another statistic in the obesity/diabetes epidemic.

Researchers are predicting that one of every two children will develop Type 2 diabetes because of excess weight, which raises the probability that they will die as much as 20 years younger than their parents.

Our children are completely surrounded by fattening foods and beverages. Even infant formulas contain added sugar, so from birth, children are ingesting ingredients that increase the size of fat cells and trigger fat cells to increase in number.

According to Dr. William J. Klish, “Babies love sweetness, and anyone selling a sweeter formula is going to have an advantage, because it would be harder to switch a baby to another formula once they get used to the taste.”

Dr. Klish is the director of the Pediatric Gastroenterology Department at Baylor College of Medicine, and a former chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ nutrition committee.

If infants are introduced to very sweet formulas, they not only develop bigger and more fat cells, they also develop a craving for highly-sweet foods and drinks. This addictive aspect can follow a child though adulthood, and the result is high risk of obesity and diabetes.

Dr. Benjamin Caballero, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is considered an expert in obesity. Dr. Caballero states:

“The issue is that sweet tastes tend to encourage consumption of excessive amounts.”

Dr. Caballero points out that babies and children will always show a preference for the sweetest food available, and they will eat more of it than they would of less-sweet food.

As infants move from formula and/or sugar-laden fruit drinks, to cereal, the fat-storage factors continue with the introduction of cereal. Dr. Caballero elucidates how the high-sugar sweetness level of cereals affects craving in children:

“This is how breakfast cereal manufacturers compete,” he said.

Babies and children are not biochemically designed to ingest highly sweet foods and beverages, but they do on a daily basis. A child’s body has been hard-wired to store calories in fat cells and to create more fat cells when High Glycemic or High Cephalic foods or beverages are ingested.

The creation of an abundance of fat cells in children makes it almost impossible for that child to maintain normal weight or to lose weight as the child grows. By age 18, the stage has already been set for a child to be slim or obese.

Evolution has provided for the protection of children during times of famine by allowing fat cells to react quickly. The problem is that this evolutionary hard-wiring cannot be circumvented and is triggered every time a child eats a food or beverage that instigates fat-storage.

This facet of Evolutionary Discordance has resulted in the childhood obesity and diabetes epidemic.

This requires an understanding of the difference between foods that trigger fat-storage versus foods that do not trigger fat-storage.

There is no diet or gimmick that will lead parents to the right selection of foods for children, as Human In Vivo Clinical Trials are required to identify which foods and beverages trigger the fat-storage cascade.

As an example, most parents are not aware of the fact that bananas are contraindicated in children with weight and/or diabetic issues, as bananas trigger fat-storage. Instead, peaches, pears, apples, and berries do not stimulate the fat-storage cascade in children.

Parents with a family history of obesity and/or diabetes will want to consider switching to KID-FRIENLY fruits as a preventive measure, as the risk of obesity/diabetes is passed on to children.

Switching from bananas to other fruits is one simple but effective modification in the selection of foods appropriate for children who will grow to become healthy, trim adults.

The Glycemic Research Institute has spent the past 25-years conducting Clinical Trials to determine which foods trigger fat-storage, including Board Approved Human In Vivo Clinical Trials in children.

As a result of the current obesity epidemic in children, the Glycemic Research Institute (GRI) has instigated the KID-FRIENDLY PROGRAM to provide independent clinical verification of foods and beverages that do not stimulate the fat-storage cascade in children.

Per this program, GRI will independently test and report on foods and beverages that meet the strict criteria for KID-FRIENDLY foods.

Products that pass the KID-FRIENDLY clinical criteria will be allowed to display the Glycemic Research Institute KID-FRIENDLY Certification Seal on their products, menu’s, websites, and marketing material.

This Certification Seal is provided PRO BONO. The Glycemic Research Institute is a Non-Profit organization.

The Glycemic Research Institute is the only laboratory authorized by the United States Federal government (www.USPTO.gov), the Canadian government, and the United Kingdom government, to conduct Clinical Trials and validate Certification for this program.