Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

One of the best ways to help your child make changes in her diet is to have her keep a food diary so that she is more aware of what she's presently eating. This may sound silly, but how many times have you grabbed a handful of pretzels while passing the kitchen, or nibbled on cheese while cooking? It's easy to consume a lot of extra calories before you realize it.

A diet diary can also be a useful tool for figuring out personal triggers for unhealthy eating, such as snacking while watching TV, or eating when feeling stressed.

The diet diary should be kept for 3-7 days without changing normal habits. Everything that is consumed should be recorded, including snacks, drinks, and extras such as dressing and condiments. Some of the things to include in a diet diary are:

Time of day
Type of food
Amount of food (approximately 1 cup, a handful)
Where you are when eating
Who you are with
Mood or feelings at the time of eating (happy, stressed out, angry, neutral)

It's important for the food diary to reflect normal eating patterns rather than an attempt at eating correctly. This way you and your child can look at the diary and see what kinds of changes can be made to improve the diet. For example, if she tends to munch on snacks when feeling stressed, you can discuss other options, such as taking a walk with the dog, calling a friend, or taking a bath.

Labels: diet, nutrition, fast food, food diary

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Adults have used exercise videos for years now, so why not make an exercise video for children? This is exactly what UCLA dance educator and dance kinesiologist, former Fitness Editor of Shape Magazine and founder of The Center for Movement Education and Research (CMER) Judy Gantz thought. With the help of Ken Shapiro, former "Everybody Loves Raymond" Director and Technical Coordinator and CDK Productions, this mother of two produced "Kids Get Movin'", an exercise DVD directed toward children ages 6-13.

"Kids Get Movin'" combines hip hop movement for cardiovascular benefits with stretching and relaxation through yoga. Recently released, the proceeds from sales of this DVD will be used by CMER to support movement education programs in the public schools. Learn more at www.kidsgetmovin.com.

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Do you worry about keeping up your family fitness goals during long road trips? This can be difficult, but a little planning will help. Instead of stopping for a fast food lunch, stop at a deli and buy sandwiches and drinks. Then find a park where you can get out and eat. Let the younger children run and take a Frisbee or ball along to encourage the older family members to move around, too.

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Has it been awhile since your child was involved in a PE class? If not, he's not alone. According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication, fewer than half of high school students participated in a physical education class in 2003. Whether this is a result of budget cuts or making more time for academics, our children are losing out physically.

What can parents do to put physical activity back into the daily lives of school children? Parents and teachers have worked together in some school districts to offer the following:

A fitness fair, set up in the gym or cafeteria, to offer information about healthy eating and activity, samples of nutritious foods, and discounts for physical activity classes or lessons.

Intramural activities or clubs such as inline skating, swimming or yoga

Contracts with community agencies such as YMCA or fitness clubs to offer discounts for after school programs

Fitness breaks during academic classe - 10 minutes of stretching, brisk walking or other physical activity

School-wide fitness challenges, where children and teachers participate in making progress toward established fitness goals

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One of the best ways to have good conversations with your teen about healthy eating is to cook together. Whether it's a discussion about the benefits of whole wheat over white while kneading pizza dough or the virtues of fruits and veggies while dicing carrots for stir-fry, your child is bound to absorb a lot more while involved in the cooking process.

If you're too busy to do much cooking, why not form a teen cooking group with other parents and their children? Establish a weekly cooking night and parents can take turns being the host. Make sure that the other parents share your values about healthy foods ahead of time!

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It's often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but why? First, it fuels your body after a long period of time without eating. And secondly, it sets the tone for how much food is consumed the rest of the day. Those who eat breakfast tend not to overeat later in the day - which is a plus when trying to keep your weight down.

When thinking about breakfast, many of us think of the typical breakfast foods: cereal, toast, eggs, and pancakes. But there are many creative options for a healthy breakfast. Some ideas are:

Scrambled egg whites and salsa in a tortilla shell or whole-wheat pita
Low fat yogurt with fresh fruit
Cottage cheese with fruit
Fruit smoothie-banana and fruit blended with low fat yogurt and ice
Grilled cheese or peanut butter sandwich

The sky is the limit - you can even eat leftovers from dinner for breakfast!

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Dietary experts say that one of the best things you can do for your child's health is to encourage the daily consumption of at least 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables. They are full of vitamins and minerals that you won't find in a supplement, and they help to prevent many diseases and reduce the likelihood of obesity.

One fruit or vegetable serving is:
1/2 cup of cooked or raw cut up fruits or vegetables
1 cup of leafy greens
3/4 cup fruit or vegetable juice
1 medium apple, banana or orange

This may sound like a lot, but there are many creative ways to fit in all of those servings. Try stir-fried veggies or vegetable kabobs for dinner. Add pears, peaches or oranges to a green salad for lunch. Make a whole-wheat pasta salad and add broccoli, carrots, zucchini and red or yellow peppers. You can add grated vegetables to pizza sauce, fruit on top of your yogurt or cereal and cut-up grapes to your tuna salad.

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You may have seen media campaigns promoting a "10,000 steps per day" challenge. These programs have sprung up in an effort to help people get moving by using a pedometer to record the number of steps they take each day. 10,000 steps per day equal about 5 miles, which is a good activity goal for most adults.

But this may not be enough for children. On the average, children need more steps per day than adults to achieve health benefits. Learn what your child's current step level is by purchasing an inexpensive pedometer and recording the number of steps taken each day for a week. Divide the number by 7 for a baseline.

Then take a family step challenge. Walk the dog, plan an after-dinner family walk, take turns with a push mower to mow the lawn. Record each family member's progress and reward the weekly winner with a movie or other fun activity.

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The family that eats together may beat obesity together, according to a recent Harvard University study. Children who eat meals together with the family every day or almost every day, according to researchers, consume higher amounts of important nutrients, more fruits and vegetables, and less fat than children who only sometimes eat meals with the family.

With today's busy schedules, this can be hard. It's tempting to hand over a few dollars and let your kids eat out. But you can succeed by keeping meals simple and easy to prepare and yet nutritious. Some ideas:

• Buy a ready-made spaghetti sauce and put it over pasta noodles for a main course.


• Use purchased cut-up veggies and pre-cut chicken for a quick stir-fry.


• Use leftover diced chicken added to fresh tomatoes, lettuce and shredded cheese to put into a tortilla wrap for a fajita.


• Cook large amounts of things on weekends, such as chili, soup, or casseroles. Eat one portion and freeze leftovers in family sized containers to take out on busy nights.


• Look for prepared nutritious foods in your grocery or deli. Buy a roasted chicken and add brown rice and a salad for a quick and tasty meal.

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If you worry that your children aren't getting enough exercise, the first thing to consider in looking for a solution is your own behavior. Are you a fitness dropout? While it's easy for exercise to take a backset to the demands of work and family obligations - your children take your lead when it comes to activity level. Couch potatoes tend to run in families.

Finding time for fitness is easier when you make it fun - and when it's a family affair. Some good ideas to get moving are:

• If it's a beautiful day, don't just tell the kids to go outside and play, go with them. Shoot hoops, toss a ball, throw a Frisbee, spray each other with a hose.
• Plan special events such as birthdays around activities, like roller skating, bowling, or biking.
• Put on an exercise tape and work out together.
• Walk to destinations that are within walking distance. When taking the car, park a distance away from the store and walk in. Take the stairs whenever possible, especially if it's less than 3 flights up or down.
• Do family chores together. Washing the car, raking leaves, vigorous housework - all give you points for fitness.

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Helping your teen to lose weight may be as easy as restocking the drinks in your refrigerator, according to researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. A six-month study reported in a recent issue of Pediatrics found that changing just one adolescent behavior - that of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages - resulted in an average of 1 pound of weight lost per month.

Because kids drink as many as half of their beverages at home, the researchers asked one group of teens to choose from a variety of non-caloric drinks such as soda, lemonade and iced tea, and then delivered these drinks free to the household. A second group of teens participating in the study were not asked to change their beverage consumption behavior. At the end of the six months, those who had changed their consumption of high calorie beverages lost weight, while those who had not changed their beverage intake patterns did not.

While substituting an unsweetened ice tea for a sugar sweetened tea may only result in a small monthly weight loss, it is evidence that helping your teen to take little steps in changing eating behaviors can pay off.

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