Helping Your Child Achieve Healthy Weight

Your child can achieve and maintain healthy weight with good nutrition and regular exercise. When your child is young, teach him or her good habits of eating and exercising. These good habits can continue to help your child grow into adulthood. The USDA's MyPlate Program states that staying in shape can help prevent health issues later on. These include:

• Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• High Cholesterol
• Asthma
• Sleep Apnea
• Cancers can be classified into several types
• The liver and the arthritis that comes with severe obesity

Children who are overweight or obese may also be bullied or teased about their weight. The child may be made to feel ashamed of their appearance or isolated. This can affect a child’s ability to interact, learn and make new friends.

Parents should set an example of healthy behaviors for their kids. Support your child as they strive to reach a healthy body weight. Use words that describe being strong and healthy. Avoid using language that emphasizes weight loss, diets, or achieving a specific size. Be positive and supportive.

Improve your health with these steps

You are providing your child with important tools to live a healthy life. By setting an example, you can influence your child's view on healthy eating.

Make healthy choices for your children

• Make yourself a role model. Pick healthy snacks and foods for you.
• Keep healthy snacks readily accessible in your house (for instance, fruit such as apples and bananas; and raw vegetables , like celery and carrots).
• Make sure to include plenty of vegetables and whole grain as well as low-fat protein .
• Introduce healthy foods slowly. It is not easy to get children used to something new. You can increase the likelihood that your child develops healthy eating habits if you keep offering healthy options.
• Teach your children how to choose healthy lunches for school.
• Avoid eating fast food. Choose the healthiest option available at fast food or sit down restaurants.
• You can let your child stop when they are full.
• Food and drinks are the main sources of nutrition.
• Select a range of foods from each group.
• Attention to the portion size

What can I do to encourage my child's physical activity?

You have an enormous influence as a parent, or the primary caregiver of your child. You may not be aware of it but what you choose to do can influence their choices. Your child will likely be more active if they see you regularly being active.

Include physical activity in your daily routine. You could, for example, take your dog on a morning walk or play basketball every night before dinner. Choose physical activities you can do together.

American Academy of Family Physicians recommends all children engage in at least 30-60 minutes of physical activity per day. AAFP urges schools and parents to prioritize physical activity. Inactivity for long periods should be discouraged at home as well as in school.

Screen time limit

You should limit your child’s screen-time to 1 or 2 hours per day. Playing video games or on the computer, browsing the Internet, sending texts, and watching television are all examples of screen time. Limit your screen time to set an example.

Be on the lookout for changes to your child's normal eating and exercise routine. Does your child appear to be eating for boredom, comfort or other reasons? Emotional eating is what this means. Weight gain can be caused by emotional eating. This could also indicate that your child has difficulty coping with emotions like stress or depression.

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Be aware of the signs and symptoms that indicate an eating disorder. You can look out for:

• Over-concerning about calories
• Anxiety about weight
• No appetite at all
• Binge Eating
• Exercise excessively

Anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders are rare in children. However, they do occur. As a child becomes a teenager and young adult, the risk of developing an eating disorder increases.