Over the last 30 years, the rate of childhood obesity has tripled, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
1 More than a third of children and teens are now overweight or obese. And unhealthy eating habits can continue into adulthood.
Luckily, parents and caregivers can help jumpstart and then sustain a healthy lifestyle for children and adolescents.
A model of good behavior
You play an important role as guide and coach for your children as they make choices about eating.
And the effect your actions have can be profound. For example, research has shown that just eating together as a family can improve children's nutritional health.
2
In families who shared at least three meals a week, children were 24
percent more likely to be eating healthy foods than those in families
who ate few or no meals together. The children were also 12 percent less
likely to be overweight, 20 percent less likely to eat unhealthy foods
and 35 percent less likely to engage in dangerous weight-loss efforts
like purging, taking diet pills and laxatives, or vomiting.
Although the researchers don't know for sure why family meals are so
effective, they note that homemade meals are typically lower calorie.
Plus, eating together lets adults model good behavior and intervene when
behaviors threaten to become bad habits.
Those family meals shouldn't include the television, however. That's
because children who regularly watch TV during meals have unhealthier
diets. In one study,
for example, children whose families rarely or never turned on the TV
during family meals were less likely to eat chips, soda and other junk
foods.
3
Making dinner time a family event, even if the meal is something simple, encourages a healthy attitude toward eating.
What you can do
Try these tips for helping your child develop healthy eating habits:
-
Start early. If you help your child establish good
eating, exercising and sleeping habits early in life, you won't have to
break bad habits later on. Expose your child to a variety of flavors and
pair those new sensations with positive contexts and foods that your
child already likes. Research suggests that familiarization can not only help children come to accept healthy food but actually prefer it.4
-
Ensure that most foods in your home are healthy. You
don't have to swear off desserts, however. Low-fat frozen yogurt and
fruit are a good alternative to ice cream and sprinkles, for instance.
-
Make healthy eating easy. Children generally choose
foods that are familiar, easily available and ready to be eaten.
Encourage your child or teen to eat more fruits and vegetables by making
them just as convenient as sugary snacks. You could place baby carrots
in small bags on an easily accessible shelf in the refrigerator, for
example.
-
Model healthy eating. Children who see their parents
or caregivers buying, cooking and eating healthy foods are more apt to
eat healthy foods themselves. Avoid using food as a reward for good
behavior. Making unhealthy food a reward for good deeds promotes the
idea that healthy food isn't as appealing as junk food or something to
look forward to. Healthy eating doesn’t need to be a trick. Instead,
teach your children to look at healthy foods as tasty and desirable.
-
Have meals as a family. Family meals are not only a
good opportunity to share in your children’s lives. They are also the
perfect venue to talk about healthy eating habits and engage your
children in conversations about what a healthy meal looks and tastes
like. Limit eating out. Eating out is not only expensive, but can also
be unhealthy. Not knowing what goes into the food you're eating can make
it difficult to help your child choose something that is nutritious and
appropriately sized. Source: apa
