When children are young, parents and other caregivers are responsible for providing an environment that helps them maintain a lifestyle that is beneficial to their health. When it comes to nutrition and fitness, the role of parents is the same no matter the age of their children. A healthy weight for kids is about much …
When children are young, parents and other caregivers are responsible for providing an environment that helps them maintain a lifestyle that is beneficial to their health.
When it comes to nutrition and fitness, the role of parents is the same no matter the age of their children. A healthy weight for kids is about much more than numbers. It is about healthy behaviors, such as enjoying a variety of foods and engaging in activities for strength, flexibility, and aerobic capacity.
Diets can do more harm than good. While some diets can encourage a balanced lifestyle, others can hinder growth and development and lead to eating disorders.
First, because children continue to grow throughout their teenage and early adult years, dieting during this phase can hinder their growth and development. Undereating or restricting certain food groups has been shown to stunt growth in teens. A child needs as many nutrients as they can get to give them energy and encourage their growth.
Second, dieting can impact body negativity and mental health.
Eating disorders are currently ranked as the third most common chronic disease among the child population. The numbers of children and teens developing eating disorders continue to grow, and these eating disorders early in life can affect their health, both physical and mental, for years to come.
Children begin to build lifestyle habits and opinions of self at a young age. Research shows that kids who are surrounded by diet talk, practice dieting, or are told to lose weight have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder such as anorexia or binge eating. Studies in children have found that excessive preoccupation with weight could lead to irritability, difficulty concentrating, fear of weight regain, social isolation, and body image distortion. Body dissatisfaction or dislike is a known risk factor for eating disorders.
Children and adolescents ages 6 to 17 years should have 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. Consider checking out your local community center for kid-friendly activities, or plan family activities that get everyone moving, such as biking, after-dinner walks, basketball, or soccer at the park.
Regular physical activity can help children and adolescents improve cardiorespiratory fitness, build strong bones and muscles, control weight, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and reduce the risk of developing health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and obesity.
More than three decades of research have shown that regular family meals offer a wide variety of physical, social-emotional, and academic benefits, and eating more meals together can make a big difference.
Some examples of benefits that family mealtimes offer are better academic performance, higher self-esteem, lower risk of depression, lower rates of obesity, better nutrition with more fruits and vegetables, and less fast food.
In addition, dinners made at home are less costly than eating out and easier to prepare than you might think.
Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day and comes with benefits such as boosting energy levels, helping weight management, and providing nutrients.
First, breakfast replenishes your glucose supply to boost your energy levels and alertness and keeps your metabolism up for the day. Skipping breakfast may seem like a good way to reduce overall energy intake, but research shows that even with a higher intake of energy, breakfast eaters tend to be more physically active in the morning than those who don’t eat until later in the day. Specifically, a healthy breakfast can improve your ability to concentrate in the short term.
Second, eating breakfast can help with weight management, which leads to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the long term. People who regularly eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight or obese.
Lastly, eating a healthy breakfast can provide essential nutrients required for good health. In fact, people who eat breakfast are more likely to meet their recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals than people who don’t.
Go beyond cereal and milk and try a breakfast burrito made with a scrambled egg, cheese, and salsa wrapped in a flour tortilla. Also, teach kids to use the blender to make their own breakfast smoothie or serve a yogurt bar with low-fat plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt. Add toppings like whole grain cereal, dried fruit, and unsalted nuts.
First, forbidding foods only increases a child’s desire for that food. Research has found that when given free access to previously restricted foods, children tend to overeat them. The effects of this overt restriction are therefore the opposite to those intended.
Instead of saying no to your child’s favorite food, try limiting the portion size. Use non-food rewards for good behavior, such as stickers or allowing your child to have a friend over to play.
Most children beyond age 4 need at least 1½ cups of fruit and 1½ to 2½ cups of vegetables a day. Both vegetables and fruits contain essential nutrients that are important for their health, growth, and development. Specifically, they provide vitamins such as vitamin C and folic acid. They also have other plant substances that are thought to help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease. Try to serve delicious fruits and vegetables at every meal and snack.
Fresh, frozen, dried, and canned—all types of produce contribute to good health. You can make produce fun by serving frozen grapes, vegetable kebabs, or strawberry-topped frozen yogurt.
Ban screens at mealtime and help kids focus on their food by being present at the dinner table. Ask your kids what it feels like to be very hungry, a little bit hungry, comfortably full, and uncomfortably full. Discuss the importance of trusting and listening to internal body cues.
Mindful eating enhances the enjoyment of food, improves digestion, and helps curb stress and overeating.
Soft drinks, fruit punch, and fruit drinks contain added sugars and no essential nutrients, and could be displacing nutritious beverages such as plain milk and water.
Drinking sugary soft drinks has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, fatty liver disease, and an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.
Furthermore, the acids in sugary drinks can erode and reduce the hardness of the enamel that protects your teeth, and lead to tooth decay and cavities. Children’s teeth are especially vulnerable to acid erosion and tooth decay, as they have thinner tooth enamel than adults.
Kids who get enough sleep are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and perform better in school. This is because sleep is the time for children’s bodies to recharge and incorporate the information they have learned throughout the day. During deep non-REM sleep, the body’s energy is restored, growth and repair occurs, and important brain development hormones are released.
Sleep deprivation stifles the immune system, negatively affects mood and behavior, and can also hinder a child’s performance in school. Therefore, good sleep is a vital component for a healthy lifestyle.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television in children’s rooms to reduce screen time and promote healthy sleep habits.
By being mindful that your kids get enough physical activity, eat healthy and consistent meals, and get enough sleep, you can play a crucial role in helping them maintain a healthy lifestyle.
