Childhood obesity is running rampant. An Australian website offers its top lessons for helping you avoid the epidemic in your own home. Let’s see what our friends from Down Under have to say about childhood nutrition…
- Parents teach their children how to eat for life. In other words, teach by example. Parents who drink a lot of sodas and eat unhealthy snacks will likely see their kids grow up to do the same.
- Activity is just as important as eating right. “If children move for at least an hour each day, not only do they have less time to eat, they are also far less likely to have weight issues,” writes Taste.com.au.
- There is a time to eat and a time not to. Allowing kids to graze might embolden them to reject their veggies at dinnertime. Establish structured meal times, and allow kids to eat only at specified meal or snack times.
- Food should be eaten at the table as a family. Studies show that kids who eat with their families at mealtime are less likely to be overweight.
- Water is the only drink for children. “Soft drinks, juice and cordial are all high in sugar with little other nutrition and are not appropriate for children,” the Aussie website writes.
For more lessons from Australia, check out the full story.