Strategies for Helping Your Children Lead Nutritious Lives

With overweight and obesity at record levels for children in the United States, American youth face an unprecedented risk of developing a wide range of weight-related diseases. Though several factors have contributed to the continued rise of youth obesity rates over the previous three decades, the good news is that the two strongest influences on maintaining proper body weight are accessible by almost everyone: healthy eating and regular exercise.

The purpose of this article is to provide parents with a selection of strategies for improving their children's relationship with the first of those two primary influences. Even if your children have become citizens of fast-food nation, you have it within your power to provide them with the roadmap back to better health through improved nutrition.

STRATEGY #1: START SMART

It's not just a cliché - eating a healthy breakfast really is an important way to start the day, especially for children and adolescents. For example, the American Dietetic Association has reported that children who regularly eat healthy breakfasts are more likely to display increased levels of coordination, concentration, and problem-solving skills.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, a healthy, balanced breakfast should consist of food from three of the following four food groups:

• Dairy - Serve skim milk with your children's breakfast, or offer them low-fat yogurt cups or low-fat cottage cheese.
• Fruits and vegetables - Encourage your children to eat fresh fruit with their breakfast, or have them drink 100-percent fruit juice with no sugar added.
• Grains - Common offerings from this group include whole-grain cereals (either cold with milk or heated), whole-grain bagels, and melba toast.
• Protein - Hard-boiled egg whites are excellent sources of breakfast protein. Other options include peanut butter, lean slices of meat, and water-packed tuna.

Because time is often at a premium during those rushed early-morning hours, the Mayo Clinic advises hurried eaters to opt for a banana, a handful of dry cereal, and a small glass of skim milk.

STRATEGY #2: MAKE IT A FAMILY AFFAIR

Your children may insist that they'd rather snack in the company of their PlayStation than eat dinner alongside their siblings, but studies continue to support the health benefits of regular, old-fashioned family meals. In addition to giving you control over the quality and quantity of the food your children are eating, family meals also allow you to model appropriate behavior while establishing habits that can benefit your young ones throughout their lives.

Even without taking menu items into account, researchers with the University of Missouri have discovered that the mere act of eating together may lessen a child's likelihood of becoming overweight. After studying 8,000 students over a three-year period (from kindergarten through third grade), the researchers found that, on average, the children whose body weight fell in the normal range had eaten more meals per week with their families than did the children who became or remained overweight. According to a Reuters news service story about the study, the researchers determined that reducing the number of average weekly family meals by one was associated with an 8 percent increase in a child's likelihood of being persistently overweight.

Regular family meals also give parents additional opportunities to observe and discuss their children's eating habits. This practice may be a contributing factor in the University of Minnesota's Project EAT study's finding that adolescent girls who share meals with their families at least five times a week were less likely to take destructive weight-control measures (such as forced vomiting or abuse of laxatives) than were girls of the same age who participated in fewer family meals.

STRATEGY #3: KEEP THE KIDS INVOLVED

In case the constant text-messaging, online social groups, networked video games, and stream of newspaper and magazine articles about these phenomena haven't tipped you off, your children are growing up as part of the "interactive generation." And after they've customized their iPods with self-designed skins, ordered tennis shoes emblazoned with an original pattern that they uploaded to the manufacturer's website, and customized their mobile phones to automatically download news about their favorite bands, they're probably going to expect to have a bit more input into the family diet plan than requesting a favorite topping on pizza night.

Depending upon your children's ages and ability levels, involve them in every step of the meal-planning process. Explain your nutritional goals, solicit their input when making your shopping list, and challenge them to go online to find healthy alternatives to foods they just can't stomach. When it comes to meal time, you can let them select some of the menu items - or design entire meals themselves - from a list of healthy options.

As they get older, encourage them to help out in the kitchen. This is a good way to continue the dialogue about healthy ingredients while also giving them some control over what they eat - all the while teaching them essential life skills and providing an alternative to take-out or heat-and-serve options.

STRATEGY #4: KEEP ‘EM HEALTHY IN THE CAFETERIA

When your school-age children head off to school, make sure their nutrition education doesn't stop at the cafeteria door. If your students prefer to buy lunch at school, review the menu in advance with them to ensure they're aware of the healthiest options available to them. For brown-baggers (or lunchbox enthusiasts), the following tips can make the midday meal both delicious and nutritious:

• When making a sandwich, use whole-wheat bread or turn your creation into a wrap with a whole-wheat tortilla. On the inside, lean cold cuts, turkey, cooked chicken, and tuna are great options. Skip the condiments, or at least select low-fat versions, and don't forget to pile on the veggies (tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, and a grilled veggie mixture are just a few excellent choices.)
• Accompany the main course with a small container of unsweetened apple sauce or a baggie filled with cut celery, baby carrots, or apple slices. For an extra enticement include a few dollops of low-fat dip along with the fruits and veggies.
• Give your child something to crunch on by including a small bag of trail mix, a granola bar, some air-popped popcorn, or a few baked potato chips or pretzels.
• Cheese cubes, raisins, grapes, and cherries can also be tasty and nutritious treats.
• Round out the meal with a healthy beverage like an unsweetened juice box, or fill a thermos with a similar healthy drink.

As with Strategy #3, making your children an active part of the process will increase the likelihood of them actually eating what you've packed. In an Aug. 18, 2007, article on the Medical News Today website, nutrition specialist Elena Serrano advised parents to include their children when picking the menu, preparing the lunch, and even packing the box or bag. "You'll find out what they like, and if they feel a part of the process, they're more prone to eat it," Serrano said.

STRATEGY #5: TOSS THE TRASH

Talking to your children about nutrition is important, but it's an exercise in futility if the discussion is conducted in a house that's filled with cookies, chips, and sodas. Clearing your pantry of junky snack options doesn't only remove temptation, but also makes room for you to stock a ready supply of healthy alternatives.

When your kids get the munchies, make sure the first thing they see when they open the refrigerator is a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables - some already washed and sliced, and perhaps placed alongside a small container of low-fat dip. When they're feeling parched, have fruit juices or cold water where the soda bottles used to be. And make granola bars, raisins, or trail mix the preferred choices for snacking in front of the television or computer monitor. On the rare occasions that you decide to have some chips around the house, pick the baked or low-fat options.

If you're feeling creative, visit your local library or type "healthy snack recipes" into your Internet search engine of choice to discover a wealth of creative and delicious alternatives.

Ultimately, your children's health will be strongly influenced by the foods they choose to eat. But by providing healthy options and setting a positive example, you will help them establish a mindset - and develop habits - that will put them in the most nutritious position possible.