Children's Health

How will healthy eating and physical activity help my child? All children benefit from healthy eating and physical activity. A balanced diet and being physically active help children: Grow. Learn. Build strong bones and muscles. Have energy. Maintain a healthy weight. Avoid obesity-related diseases like type 2 diabetes. Get plenty of nutrients. Feel good about themselves.

Give your child a snack or two in addition to his or her three daily meals. Offer your child a wide variety of foods, such as grains, vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products, and lean meat or beans. Serve snacks like dried fruit, low-fat yogurt, and air-popped popcorn. Let your child decide whether and how much to eat. Keep serving new foods even if your child does not eat them at first. Cook with less fat—bake, roast, or poach foods instead of frying. Limit the amount of added sugar in your child’s diet. Choose cereals with low or no added sugar. Serve water or low-fat milk more often than sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit-flavored drinks. Choose and prepare foods with less salt. Keep the salt shaker off the table. Have fruits and vegetables on hand for snacks instead of salty snack foods. Involve your child in planning and preparing meals. Children may be more willing to eat the dishes they help fix. Have family meals together and serve everyone the same thing. Do not be too strict. In small amounts, sweets or food from fast-food restaurants can still have a place in a healthy diet. Make sure your child eats breakfast. Breakfast provides children with the energy they need to listen and learn in school.

Serve calcium-rich vegetables like broccoli, mustard greens, kale, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. Include high-calcium beans like great northern beans, black turtle beans, navy beans, and baked beans in casseroles and salads. Try calcium-enriched soy- and rice-based drinks. Serve chilled, use in place of cow’s milk in your favorite recipes, or add to hot or cold cereals. Serve lactose-reduced or lactose-free dairy products like low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and ice cream. (Lactose is the sugar in milk and foods made with milk. People who cannot digest lactose often have stomach pain and bloating when they drink milk.) Try low-fat yogurt or cheese in small amounts—they may be easier to digest than milk.

Dried fruit and nut mix Fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables or fruit served plain or with low-fat yogurt Rice cakes, whole-grain crackers, or whole-grain bread served with low-fat cheese, fruit spread, peanut butter, almond butter, or soy nut butter Pretzels or air-popped popcorn sprinkled with salt-free seasoning mix Homemade fruit smoothie made with low-fat milk or yogurt and frozen or fresh fruit Dry cereals served plain or with low-fat or fat-free milk

Be a role model for your children. If they see you being physically active and having fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives. Involve the whole family in activities like hiking, biking, dancing, basketball, or roller skating. Focus on fun. You can do a lot of walking during trips to the zoo, park, or miniature-golf course. Include children in household activities like dog-walking, car-washing, or lawn-mowing. Limit your children’s TV and computer time. Offer them active options, like joining a local recreation center or after-school program, or taking lessons in a sport they enjoy. Encourage your child to be physically active every day.

Children who are overweight are more likely to become overweight adults. They may develop type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other illnesses that can follow them into adulthood. overweight in children can also lead to stress, sadness, and low self-esteem. Because children grow at different rates at different times, it is not always easy to tell if a child is overweight. For example, it is normal for boys to have a growth spurt in weight and catch up in height later. Your health care provider can measure your child’s height and weight and tell you if your child is in a healthy range for his or her gender and age. If your provider finds that your child is overweight, you can help.

• Do not put your child on a weight-loss diet unless your health care provider tells you to. Limiting what children eat may interfere with their growth.
• Involve the whole family in building healthy eating and physical activity habits. It benefits everyone and does not single out the child who is overweight.
• Accept and love your child at any weight. It will boost his or her self-esteem.
• Help your child find ways other than food to handle setbacks or successes.
• Talk with your health care provider if you are concerned about your child’s eating habits or weight.
• Remember, you play the biggest role in your child’s life. You can help your children learn healthy eating and physical activity habits that they can follow for the rest of their lives.

Make sure your child eats breakfast. Breakfast provides children with the energy they need to listen and learn in school. Offer your child a wide variety of foods, such as grains, vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products, and lean meats or beans. Talk to your health care provider if you are concerned about your child’s eating habits or weight. Cook with less fat—bake, roast, or poach foods instead of frying. Limit the amount of added sugar in your child’s diet. Serve water or low-fat milk more often than sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit-flavored drinks. Involve your child in planning and preparing meals. Children may be more willing to eat the dishes they help fix. Be a role model for your children. If they see you being physically active and having fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives. Encourage your child to be active every day. Involve the whole family in activities like hiking, biking, dancing, basketball, or roller skating.