Help For Overweight Children: Three Steps To Being Fit

If your child is overweight, he or she is not alone. A survey by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimates 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight. Their research revealed the number of overweight children increased by 45 percent when comparing the periods 1988-94 and 1999-2002. Finding help for kids who may become dangerously fat is not easy because we are living in a culture bombarded by fast-food restaurant billboards and commercials for sweetened cereal and junk food.

Take the first step

• The first step to helping your chunky child is to teach him or her self-acceptance. It's important for your heavy child to have a positive body image. Having a healthy self-esteem does not mean making poor lifestyle and dietary choices and accepting fat as normal. It simply means recognizing we are good people, but good people sometimes made bad choices when it comes to food and exercise.

Encourage your pudgy child with positive statements and attention. Although it may sound non-traditional, play subliminal tapes with messages to promote self-esteem and positive thinking. Be cautious about playing CDs or tapes with subliminal messages about dieting unless you first read the words first to make sure you agree with the statements.

Hefty children and eating habits

• The second step to helping your obese child is to help them understand the purpose of food as a way to feed the body and curb hunger as opposed to a way to reward or feed an emotional need.

Children are just like adults when it comes to eating for emotional reasons. Kids may associate cake with celebrations, carbonated beverages with eating pizza or buttery popcorn with a movie. They may want comfort foods after having a hard day at school.

It's important to create new associations beyond watching TV or playing videogames. After going to the nature trail to ride a bicycle or jog, have a favorite healthful smoothie. It's all right to enjoy food and even associate foods with emotional issues. At the same time, the foods can be healthful, natural and low fat.

Exercise as a family

While it's important to eat together as a family, it's also wonderful to exercise together. Whether your kids are overweight or not, walking gives them a chance to enjoy the fresh air, talk about their day and bond.

By exercising with your kid who is afraid of becoming fat you are setting a positive example.

• The third step to helping your overweight child is to get them active and involved in recreational sports or fitness routines. Make exercise fun by turning it into a challenge. Buy your plump youngsters pedometers that they can wear throughout the day. Finally, give them non-food rewards for walking at least 5 miles over the course of the day or taking at least 10,000 steps.

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