Help for the overweight child

Oct 18 2008 by Katherine Neal, The Journal

It can be quite a responsibility to ensure your children eat a healthy diet. Having two young children myself, I know how difficult it can be.

In my opinion, it is certainly easier than ever before for children to become overweight.

High-calorie foods are abundant, relatively cheap and heavily promoted, specifically at children.

The supermarket shelves are full of processed foods, many containing high levels of added sugar, salt and saturated fat yet still marketed as the healthy options.

Not only is it difficult for a child to make healthy food choices, we as parents are regularly bombarded with conflicting dietary advice, making it difficult to know if we are making healthy food choices.

In my experience, few people are eating a diet that will benefit their health in the long term.

Research has shown that very few children become overweight because of an underlying medical problem. It’s thought that most children put on excess weight because their lifestyles include an unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity.

The focus shouldn’t be on dieting but rather on making healthy food choices and increasing physical activity. Quite often parents know all to well what to do in theory, it’s putting it into practice that is the hard bit.

What do you do if your child refuses to eat fruit or vegetables? How do you produce a child who actually prefers an apple to a bag of sweets?

One thing I do know is that it doesn’t happen overnight. There are many strategies you can employ to help your child choose the healthy option. The first and most important is to set a good example; the second is a great deal of perseverance.

If you need help and practical advice to help your child improve their diet or lose weight contact Katherine Neal at Nutritional Know How to book a nutritional consultation (0191) 215-9292.

:: For more info email info@nutritionalknowhow.com