20 Steps in Promoting Healthy Weight in Children

Parents play an important role in helping their child achieve a healthy weight and prevent weight gain. This should focus on efforts to support and encourage a healthy lifestyle, nutritious eating habits and regular physical activity, as well as promote positive attitudes about good nutrition and health.

Here are some tips to assist in building positive eating and physical activity habits in your child.

 NUTRITION

• Base food choices on the Healthy Eating Pyramid, the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, and the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents. These are useful nutritional guidelines, aimed at promoting good nutrition and health.
• Limit foods that are high in calories, fat or sugar, and low in essential nutrients especially fried foods, salty snacks, pastries, confectionery and sweetened drinks.
• Eating should be based on three main meals, few healthy snacks, and occasional treats. Do not allow skipping of meals, especially breakfast.
• Attempt to provide healthy meals and snacks. These should be based around vegetables, fruits, grains, low-sugar cereals, low-fat dairy foods and lean meats. High-calorie, low nutrition snack foods should be replaced with low-calorie, healthy food choices.
• Help children understand that sweets and high-fat treats are not everyday foods. 
• Reduce unhealthy eating cues around the house. Foods and beverages with little nutritional value, such as chocolate, lollies, biscuits etc. should not be visible or too accessible.
• Limit the number of calories that your child drinks from beverages such as soft drinks, fruit juices, sodas, cordials and other sweetened beverages. Encourage water as beverages of choice.
• Attempt to make eating a pleasant and sociable experience. Limit meals to the dinner table, and eat together as a family as frequently as possible. Discourage other activities during mealtimes such as watching television.
• Do not force feed or make children ‘clean their plates’. Allow kids to choose how much they eat; it is important that they learn to know when they are full and therefore when they can stop eating.
• Plan sensible portions; avoid serving or purchasing portions that are too large. Remember, child portions are usually small compared to adult portions.
• Involve children in planning, shopping, and preparing meals. Use these activities to understand children's food preferences, teach them about nutrition and healthy cooking, and encourage them to try healthy food options.
• Do not use food as a reward or the lack of food as punishment.
• Limit frequent consumption of fast food.
• Make nutritious choices when eating out.
• Where possible, choose to breastfeed infants

 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

• Encourage regular exercise and physical activity in your child each day. Be active as a family; this should include family/ leisure/ recreational activities, such as family walks and outings, playing outside and bike rides. 
• Support participation in play, sports and other organised physical activities.
• Reduce sedentary activity by setting limits on watching television and playing computer and video games; avoid eating at these times.  These should occupy no more than 2 hours each day.
• Provide safe and accessible environments that allow children to play indoors and especially outdoors.
• Encourage ‘active commuting’, such as walking to school, the bus, or the shop when appropriate.

 SOME KEY POINTS

       It is very important that you are a good role model for your child; you should also eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and model healthy food choices.

      Avoid placing too much emphasis on body weight and talking to your child too often about calories, fat and dieting; this can actually cause more harm than good. Focus more on the child’s health and positive qualities.

      Do not place your child on a restrictive diet. The focus should be on establishing healthy eating habits, encouraging regular physical activity, and achieving optimal health and wellbeing, rather than striving for a certain weight goal.

      Be supportive. Help your child accept and feel good about themselves by supporting, accepting, and encouraging them, regardless of their body size or shape.

      Involve the whole family and work to gradually change the family's physical activity and eating habits.