Ensuring that your children lead a healthy lifestyle begins with you, the parent, and leading by example, with the way you and your family eat and exercise. For many families, that means changing what they've been doing. Some of the most common parenting nutrition "no-no's" can be avoided.

*Don't serve excessive amounts of fruit juice or fruit juice drinks. They're loaded with simple sugar. Use water to quench thirst. If flavoring is needed, add in a small amount of juice.

*Don't use food as a bribe, reward, or incentive for children. Instead of rewarding kids for good behavior or trying to stop bad behavior with sweets or treats, come up with other strategies.

*Don't insist that children clean their plates, even when full. Pay attention to signs that your child isn't hungry. If children are satisfied and don't want to take another bite, don't force them to continue eating. Reinforce the idea that they should only eat when they're hungry.

*Don't completely eliminate all sweets and favorite snacks from an overweight child's diet.
Kids may react by overeating these forbidden foods outside the home or sneaking them in on their own. Plus, placing overly strict limits on food intake can inhibit a child's growth.

*Don't skip togetherness. Families are finding it harder to sit and eat together. Parents and kids tend to grab food and take off for other activities - or eat over the sink. Be sure to schedule some time for sit-down meals in which you don't have to gulp and go.

How can parents teach kids to stay away from fatty, sugary, salty, calorie-heavy foods, even when they're away from home? "Easier said than done," Donze says. "Be a good role model. Serve healthy foods in your house. Try not to make food 'good' and 'bad.' Just healthy portions, balance, moderation, variety - these are the concepts to work on."

Not only are overweight and obese children at risk for serious health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol - all once considered exclusively adult issues - they're also prone to low self-esteem that stems from being teased, bullied, or rejected by their peers.

But how can parents promote a healthy lifestyle that incorporates daily physical activity, even when kids and families are at their busiest? "Work it in," Donze says. "It's not easy, but most families make time for TV, computer, video games, meetings, etc. Make time for activity, too."

Small increases, through time, "in portion sizes, fat content, and inactivity got us here," Dr. Hassink says. "And I think every segment of business, industry, employers, schools, parents, and physicians should be bent on changing to smaller portions, more food variety, increased activity, and decreased inactivity. Basically, it will take the combined effort of all the adults in society to stem the obesity epidemic."

If you, as a parent, incorporate healthy habits into your family's daily life - exercising often and eating well - you're modeling a healthy lifestyle for your children that could last into adulthood.

"After all," Metos says, "they eat what we give them."

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD, and Neil Izenberg, MD
Date reviewed: July 2003