Halloween candy a tricky treat

Nutritionists say holiday offers chance for kids to learn about healthy eating

By Judith Forman, Globe Staff, 10/16/2003

Holly Boykin has Halloween down to a science. After trick-or-treating, her sons, Matthew, 7, and Kenneth, 9, dump their candy into a pile in the family's Stoughton home. Boykin checks to make sure everything is securely wrapped, and each boy is allowed to eat three or four pieces. Every day after that, they're allowed one treat -- either a single piece of bigger candy, or two smaller pieces -- until the stash is depleted.

"Halloween is a struggle for us," said Boykin, who said she monitors her children's meals and snacks year round. "They want the candy, and Mom says no. You don't want to make candy a forbidden food," she said. The candy battle is waged every Halloween, when kids want to dig into their hoard, and parents worried about their children's weight and health want at least to slow them down.

Some area nutritionists and school officials are working to promote alternatives to Halloween candy. Others try to teach moderation. But everyone acknowledges that trick-or-treating time makes it more difficult to sell children on healthy lifestyles.

"It's a lot of work," said Linda Davenport, an outpatient dietician at Caritas Norwood Hospital. "If you get too restrictive, they tend to hide food or snack secretly."

Davenport runs Shapedown, an adolescent weight management program for children. During two-month sessions, her young patients and their parents spend two hours a week exercising, discussing nutrition, and considering behavioral changes. Davenport also reviews strategies to tackle situations -- ranging from pizza parties to Halloween -- where there is a temptation to overeat.

"Most of the [Halloween] feeding frenzy is in the first few days and then it will settle down," she said. Davenport encourages parents to be good role models and to communicate with their children to avoid a candy-centered power struggle.

Last fall, officials at the US Centers for Disease Control announced that more than ever, American children are struggling with their weight. Almost 9 million (or 15 percent) of those between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight, according to the federal agency, triple the number in the 1980s, based on a formula involving weight and height.

Obesity is "a problem everywhere," said Andrea Gulezian, an educator with the University of Massachusetts Extension School's Nutrition Education Program in Brockton. "It's not just overconsumption of food. It's inactivity."

Throughout the month, Gulezian is sponsoring "Food, Fun, and Reading Family Nights" for Brockton students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 2. The program includes reading, fitness, and food activities for children, and nutrition and health tips for parents.

After Halloween, Gulezian said, she recommends that parents establish a regular schedule for candy consumption -- whether it be daily, or a few times a week. She also encourages parents to use Halloween to teach children about moderation and balance, life lessons that extend beyond Oct. 31.

There are alternatives to candy for trick-or-treaters, Gulezian said, including individual packages of graham crackers, granola bars, fig cookies, nuts, pretzels, and instant cocoa. Good nonfood items for trick-or-treaters include colorful pens, whistles, crayons, small toys, or quarters, she said.

Even in the candy aisle, it's possible to make health-conscious decisions. Gulezian said Twizzlers licorice (30 calories per piece) and a small handful of chocolate kisses (25 calories each) are good options, she said. Some snack-size items, such as Peppermint Patties, Junior Mints, and 3 Musketeers bars, are lower in fat than solid bars, she said. Gummy candies, jelly beans, and candy corn are fat-free, she added, but are high in sugar.

Most parents turn toward snack-size bars, which offer built-in portion control.

Around Halloween, "Hershey, M&M/Mars, and Nestle products are three of the biggest vendors," said Terry Donilon, a spokesman for West Bridgewater-based Shaw's supermarkets. "Customers . . . want to buy in bulk for this annual celebration. To those who celebrate it, Halloween . . . brings back a lot of fond memories dressing up, walking the neighborhood, being out with friends."

Some schools are engaging in candy combat. For two years, room mothers at Marshfield's Eames Way School have been asked to limit the amount of candy they hand out during classroom Halloween celebrations. At South Elementary School in Stoughton, which Boykin's sons attend, there's a "Do Not Sell Candy" list in the office. It alerts staff which students are not allowed to purchase candy bars, sold as school fund-raisers.

And at Parent Teacher Organization events, such as the annual Halloween party, pretzels and fruit are served alongside cookies. Water, juice boxes and small cups of slush are also available instead of soda, she said.

"There's a lot of anxiety around this time," said Jan Hangen, a clinical nutrition specialist with the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children's Hospital in Boston. "There's emphasis on getting the most candy you can. There are competitions sometimes with kids."

Hangen does most of her work with overweight children between the ages of 9 and 15. She encourages families to establish a game in which kids trade in candy for points to be redeemed for nonfood treats. Parents also can set aside family time to make healthier Halloween food, such as low-fat pumpkin souffle or pumpkin soup. She uses visualization exercises so children can consider what's more important -- a life of health or the short-term taste of candy.

"We don't have to go all out for Halloween because Thanksgiving is coming up," Hangen said. "There's a holiday every month."