Weight Loss:
Developing Healthy Eating Habits in Your Kids
By teaching your children healthy eating habits, you can
keep them at a healthy weight. Also, the eating habits your children
pick up when they are young will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle
when they are adults.
One of the most important approaches to eating is
cutting down on fat intake. Simple ways to accomplish this include
eating low-fat or nonfat dairy products, poultry without skin and lean
meats, and low-fat or fat-free breads and cereals.
If you are unsure about how to select and prepare a
variety of foods for your family, consult a doctor or registered
dietitian for nutrition counseling.
It is important that you do not place your
overweight child(ren) on a restrictive diet. Children should never be
placed on a restrictive diet to lose weight, unless a doctor supervises
one for medical reasons.
Other approaches parents can take to develop healthy
eating habits in their children include:
- Guide your family's choices rather than dictate foods.
Make a wide variety of healthful foods available in the house. This practice
will help your children learn how to make healthy food choices.
- Encourage your children to eat slowly. A child can
detect hunger and fullness better when eating slowly.
- Eat meals together as a family as often as possible. Try
to make mealtimes pleasant with conversation and sharing, not a time
for scolding or arguing. If mealtimes are unpleasant, children may
try to eat faster to leave the table as soon as possible. They then
may learn to associate eating with stress.
- Involve your children in food shopping and preparing
meals. These activities will give you hints about your children's food
preferences, an opportunity to teach your children about nutrition, and
provide your kids with a feeling of accomplishment. In addition, children may
be more willing to eat or try foods that they help prepare.
- Plan for snacks. Continuous snacking may lead to
overeating, but snacks that are planned at specific times during the day can
be part of a nutritious diet, without spoiling a child's appetite at meal
times. You should make snacks as nutritious as possible, without depriving
your children of occasional chips or cookies, especially at parties or other
social events.
- Discourage eating meals or snacks while watching TV.
Try to eat only in designated areas of your home, such as the dining room or
kitchen. Eating in front of the TV may make it difficult to pay attention to
feelings of fullness, and may lead to overeating.
- Encourage your children to choose water as their beverage.
Overconsumption of sweetened drinks and sodas has been linked to
increased rates of obesity in children.
- Try not to use food to punish or reward your children. Withholding food as a punishment may lead
children to worry that they will not get enough food. For example, sending
children to bed without any dinner may cause them to worry that they will go
hungry. As a result, children may try to eat whenever they get a chance.
Similarly, when foods, such as sweets, are used as a reward, children may
assume that these foods are better or more valuable than other foods. For
example, telling children that they will get dessert if they eat all of their
vegetables sends the wrong message about vegetables.
- Make sure your children's meals outside the home are balanced.
Find out more about their school lunch program, or pack their lunch
to include a variety of foods. Also, select healthier items when
dining at restaurants.
Reviewed by the Department of Nutrition Therapy at The Cleveland Clinic.
Edited by
Cynthia
Haines, MD, WebMD, August 2004.
Portions of this page ©
The Cleveland Clinic 2000-2004
Last Editorial Review: 7/20/2005
