Episode 68 (Dr Kyla Smith)

AN EVIDENCE BASED APPROACH TO HEALTHY EATINGDr Kyla Smith is a paediatric dietician with a passion for helping families to feed their children well without the overwhelm. Dr Smith has a PhD in childhood weight management and 15 years experience working with restrictive eaters both in her clinic and online programs. Dr Smith has developed a suite of online programs and resources to help families feed their children with confidence. As the first paediatric dietician on our show, I must say, what a way to start! This episode sets the foundation for a lot of future conversations and I would encourage you to share this episode with your friends and family! The concept of the “division of responsibility” is one of great importance and significance in our current context. “You provide and they decide” is so valuable in every household and extends to children with neurodisabilities. We know that some children with neurodisabilities have sensory preferences associated with past experiences. In these instances, forcing the issue of feeding a variety of food can be frustrating for all involved. Providing choice and autonomy remains relevant. However, it is also vital that if there are concerns with intake and growth that help is sought from a health professional. For some children this may mean dietary supplements that are provided by a clinical expert following clinical guidelines. Dr Smith’s advice to “stay in our lane” as health professionals or well-meaning people in our community becomes very relevant here. Just because we all eat, doesn’t mean we are an expert in providing nutritional advice if children are not eating well to support their growth! It is so important to recognise the biases that we may bring from our own upbringing and experiences and distinguish this from actual evidence based information. The overwhelm of information from uncurated sources continues to ring true in this area. To distinguish between evidence based advice and personal testimonial advice is a difficult task. Therefore, seeking expert advice if there are concerns about nutritional intake cannot be overstated.On a more general note that is relevant to all of us, whether we have children or not is that there is so much power in our language. To learn that a third of adolescents have some kind of disordered eating behaviour was alarming. The commentary from so many sources today about diet culture surrounds us and we need to be more conscious than ever about our language and how we talk about food with each other and our young people. For more information on Dr Smith - visit her website https://mealtimes.com.au/