Essay

Healthier Snacks for Children – K.T. Analysis

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HEALTHIER SNACKS FOR CHILDREN – K.T. ANALYSIS

Problem:

How to get snack companies to use less sugar (or natural alternative) in their snacks for children.

Research reveals that the food and beverage sector is today using artificial sweeteners in a large proportion of their products, most of which are snacks consumed by children, particularly within the age bracket of 6 to 11 years old. These ingredients are high in calories and are therefore harmful to the health of the young ones. This paper shines the light on the issue of getting snack companies to use less sugar or alternatively, natural sugars in children’s snacks. The following three objectives are to be considered:

· Use natural sweeteners like Stevia – Stevia is a non-glycemic herbal sweetener mainly consumed by vegans. It contains no calories at all and tastes even better than cane sugar, making it a viable candidate

· Use fruit syrups like Yacon syrup – This is another sweetening agent that is extracted from the Yacon plant’s tuberous roots. It has quite a number of nutritional benefits such as low caloric and sugar content.

· Switch to honey – Although it contains more calories than sugar, honey possesses a higher GI or Glycemic Index, which makes it under a slower absorption process.

Alternatives to tackle the issue of high level of artificial sugars in children’s snacks are as follows:

1. Hire another corporation that will insist on creating healthier snack options.

2. Serve fresh fruits as well as vegetables

3. Change to high-fiber foods like whole grains

4. Introduce low-fat dairy foods in the menu

5. Serve healthy beverages like water, seltzer and fruit juices

Table 1 below is a representation of a K-T Problem Analysis to be used to establish how to make snack firms use reduced sugar amounts or natural alternatives in children’s snacks. It identifies the main problem, whom it affects, when and to what extent it is said to occur. The probable causes of the problem and its variables are also shown:

Table 1:

Table 2 represents the subset of alternatives – whether to decrease the amount of artificial sugars in children’s snacks or use natural sugars exclusively. Both alternatives passed the “Must” test, therefore it is required that one moves to the “Wants” test section. In this case, it is clear that “Use natural sugars exclusively” outshine its rival alternative of “Decreasing the amount of artificial sugars in snacks”.

Table 2:

Should the objectives fail to bring about the desired result, which is to have companies produce low-sugar or natural-sugar snacks for children, then alternative 4 should be undertaken i.e. introducing low-fat dairy foods in the children’s snack menu both in schools and households.

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Baines, D., & Seal, R. (2012). Natural Food Additives, Ingredients and Flavourings. Burlington: Elsevier Science.

In Goran, M. I., In Tappy, L., & In Lê, K.-A. (2015). Dietary sugars and health.

Moreno, A. L., Pigeot, I., & Ahrens, W. (2011). Epidemiology of obesity in children and adolescents: Prevalence and etiology. New York: Springer.

Packaged Facts (Firm). (2011). Sugar, sugar substitute, and sweetener trends in the U.S. Rockville, Md: Packaged Facts.

Samour, P. Q., & King, K. (2012). Pediatric nutrition. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Shield, J. E., Mullen, M. C., & American Dietetic Association. (2002). The American Dietetic Association guide to healthy eating for kids: How your children can eat smart from five to twelve. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Warner, P. (1996). Healthy snacks for kids. San Leandro, Calif: Bristol Pub. Enterprises.Bottom of Form