Helping Your Child Lose Weight

Childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic. Overweight children are at significantly higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, thyroid dysfunction, illness, cancer, and many other health issues if they do not learn to manage their weight an an appropriate level. It falls to parents to re-teach their children good lifestyle habits to help them lose weight.

Crash and fad diets are not healthy, failing not only to keep the weight off of children but often causing additional health problems. Counting every calorie a child eats is very difficult, and not all parents can afford to take children to weight loss programs. The good news is that there are simple rules to helping your child lose weight.

Learn appropriate portion sizing, and teach your children. Our nation, as a whole, has a poor concept of appropriate portion size. "Super-sizing" and "Value Meals" have instilled in our young people that more is better. Teaching children, and ourselves, what a real portion looks like can be difficult and dissapointing; but, it is absolutely necessary to maintain good eating habits. Children are never going to regularly measure their food, but these simple guidelines can help you and them know how much a "portion" really is, according to BioEd Online:

1 Portion of Meat is the size of a fist.

1 portion of rice, fruit, pasta, or vegetables is the size of a tennis ball.

1 serving of grain fits into a cupped hand.

1 portion of cheese is two fingers

Cut out fruit juice. Fruit juice, despite the AMA's protestations, do not count as fruit. They contain none of the dietary fiber whole fruit has, and often have added sugar. Dietary fiber in fruit is what fills a child up, taking the edge off of hunger. It also keeps the child's blood sugar from spiking, and causing other health concerns such as hyperactivity, ADD/ADHD symptoms, or sugar addiction. Since juice has little to no fiber, replace juice with water and whole fruits.

Eliminate soda. Soda has many pitfalls. It leaches calcium from growing bones, and doesn't quell hunger. Sodas containing sugar are, of course, high in calories and can contribute to sugar addiction, diabetes, and a slew of other problems. Sugar-free sodas do not trigger the body's "Full" hormone, and can break the cycle the body natural has that revs up metabolism when sweetness is detected. Soda should be saved for a special treat once a week or less.

No more pre-sweetened foods. Foods that are pre-sweetened, such as chocolate milk, yogurt, and peanut butter contain excessive amounts of sugars, especially HFCS. Buy the plain, unsweetened version and use honey, agave, stevia, molasses, or even regular table sugar to sweeten them slightly. Start acclimating your child to less sweet versions of these foods by cutting the added sugar a bit each time they have them, and save them for treats.

Get rid of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). The problems with HFCS are myriad, and it is likely one of the largest contributors to childhood obesity. It metabolizes into fat far faster than even table sugar, it's been shown to cause the body to store fat for the rest of the day. This is obviously very bad for a child, or anyone, attempting to lose weight. It has been directly linked to diabetes, sugar addiction, and several other health risks. It causes an excess of the "hunger" hormone le, and a decrease in the body's production of the hormone leptin, which signals fullness.

Unfortunately, HFCS is in a large percentage of prepared foods you will find at your grocer. Cutting HFCS is going to mean reading a lot of labels, and often opting for whole foods that will require more preparation. As parents, this can be difficult; but, in the long run, it will make for a much healthier child.

Involve your child in food preparation. Children are more likely to eat food they've helped prepare, which will make the transition to healthier foods go more smoothly. This also helps children understand what goes into food, and what healthy and whole ingredients look like.

No "boxed" or canned meals. These types of meals often contain many empty calories and chemicals. Make similar versions of your favorites in your own kitchen, and you will often save hundreds of calories per day (and sometimes per meal).

Forget fast food. Fast food is full of calories, sugars, starches, and fats. When planning time out of the house, pack a small cooler with healthier snacks or meals. Sandwiches, cheese slices, nuts, fruits, yogurt, and cottage cheese all pack wonderfully in a cooler, and are far healthier than the fast food options.

Eat whole Wheat pasta and brown rice. White pasta and rice contain no fiber. Switching to whole grains will put more fiber and nutrition onto the dinner plate, which keeps kids full longer. It also helps the digestive tract process efficiently, so there is less chance of a child developing colon cancer or digestive problems in the future.

More veggies, less meat. Protein is important, but most children in the US do not get enough vegetables. Along with fiber, vegetables contain antioxidants to help fight disease, protect against cancer, and boost the immune system. Vegetables also help other foods process and move through the digestive tract, cutting the chances of color cancer in the future.

Meat contains important nutrients, but there are alternative protein sources that are lower in fat. These can be used to supplement or replace meat protein at some meals for lower calorie, lower fat options. Many vegetables, such as broccoli and Brussel sprouts, are also excellent sources of protein when mixed with whole grains. Legumes, such as beans and lentils, als provide many of benefits of vegetables and are complete protein sources.

Replace granola and candy bars. Granola bars are not generally healthy, often having as much fat and as many calories as a candy bar. To keep children going between meals, give them low-fat peanut butter with apples, or a veggie plate with reduced-fat ranch dip. This provides far more nutrients with few calories.

Give kids high fiber, low sugar breakfasts. Sugar in the morning causes blood sugar to spike then drop, leaving a child tired and lethargic until their next meal. It also leaves them hungry faster. Curb this with a breakfast of old-fashioned oatmeal, whole grain toast and low-fat peanut butter, and a piece of whole fruit. Stay away from instant oats, as they are far lower in fiber. Raisins, nuts, and a small amount of honey or brown sugar can be added to the oatmeal. Round out the breakfast with a glass of milk.

Children who don't eat breakfast have a higher BMI than those who do, so make sure your child doesn't skip their morning meal.

Pack lunches. With a few notable exceptions at schools making a concerted effort at healthier lunches, school lunches are abominable. They're typically full of HFCS, fats, sugars and starches, and empty calories. Packing a lunch for your child takes only minutes, and can be done the night before. Leftovers make a great lunch when packed with fruit, milk, and nuts or cheese. Or, pack a tuna or peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread with applesauce, cottage cheese, and sliced vegetables. A packed lunch will often shave hundreds of calories off of your child's daily intake. Packed correctly, it will also increase nutrition value.

Limit TV and schedule time to be active. Television is not the devil, but most children watch far too much. Limit the time in front of the tube. Instead, schedule fun and active things to do with your children. You can take a walk, play a game of ball or catch, go to the gym together, practice yoga from a home video, play a school sport, or take part in a group activity such as martial arts. Vigorous activity decreases appetite. It also stimulate metabolism, helping your child burn more calories.

Lead by example. A child cannot learn good habits from a teacher who doesn't practice what they preach. If you need to lose weight, make it a joint effort with your child. Show them good eating and exercise habits, and they will learn to emulate them.

Changing a child's habits is hard. They will be resistant, and you will need to be very firm and resolute. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

Resources:

"Estimating Portion Sizes." BioEd Online.

"The Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup." by Christopher R. Mohr, MS, RD, LDN.20 August 200. Diabeteshealth.com

"ADD: Are Doctors Sugar-Coating Attention Deficit Diagnosis?" by By Ward Dean M.D. Vitamin Research Products

"Cereal Breakfast Linked to Lower BMI," August 6, 2003. FoodNavigator-USA.com