by Ondine Brooks Kuraoka

The food choices of our busy lifestyles can cumulate in hard-to-shed habits and pounds. Just as difficult to undo is the damage caused by unhealthy body image messages, which bombard us through glamour-populated electronic media and glossy pages. It’s difficult enough for us as adults; how do we help our kids wade through the seductive mire of “Taste this! Look like this!” and emerge with an ability to maintain both healthy bodies and attitudes?
Kathy Kater, a licensed independent clinical social worker, is author of Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too!
(National Eating Disorders Association, 2005) and Real Kids Come in All Sizes (Broadway, 2004). “Children are growing up in a culture that encourages them to believe they need to look a certain way in order to feel desirable or even be acceptable,” Kater says.
At the same time, Kater points out, kids are targeted to buy the idea that eating is about entertaining themselves with bursts of flavor. “Children become accustomed to the flavor-enhancing chemicals and exciting packaging of processed foods.”
Registered dietician Karen Donato is the coordinator of Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition (WE CAN), an education initiative of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Donato says, “Children often gain weight over summer vacation because they’re at home where snacks are readily available, rather than in a structured environment with less access to food.”
Dreading the hard sell of giving up chips and sodas? Read on. The NHLBI conducted research in which park and recreation programs in about 50 locations across the country provided only healthy snacks to kids for several weeks. After that time, they were presented with processed food snacks. The good news: children asked for the healthy foods instead.
Stephen Daniels, M.D., Pediatrician-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital in Denver, points to the worrisome trend of adult-onset (Type II) diabetes in children, previously thought to be an adults-only problem.
“Everyone is busy; families tend to make decisions based on convenience,” Daniels says. “Each family has perceived obstacles to more nutritious meals, but if they invest in doing it right as the child’s diet develops, the pay-off will come later when healthy eating is taken for granted.” Melinda Johnson, a registered dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association says, “Kids rarely eat healthier than their parents. Make sure you’re eating the way you’d like your kids to eat.”
Johnson sums up with the wisdom of maintaining perspective on the bigger picture of well-being. She advises against focusing on weight-- yours or your child’s. “Instead, eat together more often and focus on healthy habits that help you feel good, have energy and enjoy life,” Johnson says.

Here are some tips from the experts:

From Stephen Daniels, M.D.:
Build an action plan in steps, rather than all at once. Start anywhere you can imagine success. One idea: commit to a healthy breakfast.
Focus on meals rather than snacking throughout the day. For young children or anyone who needs snacks, choose whole foods rather than processed snack foods. For example, select actual fruits instead of “fruity bears;” whole wheat crackers and real cheese instead of “cheesy” spreads; nuts and raisins instead of “energy bars.”
Don’t skip meals; this sets your body up for overeating.
Practice portion control. Want a second helping? Have more vegetables, but limit butter and fatty sauces. A serving of meat is equal to the size of your palm; for your child, it’s the size of his palm. Instead of several cups of juice a day, have one cup. Then drink water or low- or nonfat milk (dairy, soy, almond or rice milks offer nutritious choices but again, follow serving guidelines).
Praise healthy choices and behaviors. Ignore not-as-good choices rather than nagging. Children eventually integrate healthy habits associated with praise.

From Melinda Johnson, R.D.:
Adults are responsible for choosing and serving the food; children are responsible for deciding how much to eat.
Don’t force children to eat anything they don’t want to eat. Give children a variety of foods and gentle encouragement to try them in their own time.
Spend time on the weekend planning the week’s menu. Involve your children; accept requests for favorite foods but also challenge them to think of something new to try.
Take kids shopping and talk about food choices.

From Kathy Kater, LICSW:
If you eat well and maintain an active lifestyle over time, your natural weight will be revealed. Accept that healthy, well-fed bodies are diverse in size and shape.
Don’t diet. If you limit the food needed to satiate hunger, it will backfire, triggering preoccupation with food and ultimately an overeating response.
Satisfy hunger with wholesome, nutrient-rich foods. Learn to feed your body versus merely “eating.”
Develop a sense of identity based on your interests and values rather than on how you look.
Become media-savvy. When you see images of reed-thin women, hyper-muscular men, or “fun” processed foods, discuss with your child what the advertisement is selling. How does the ad make them feel? How much power will they give the ad?
Rather than banning processed snack foods (and increasing their allure), teach children balance. Eat healthy foods before “treats.”
Read ingredient lists. Buy 100 percent juice instead of “drinks” (orange drinks, soft drinks, energy drinks). Buy whole wheat bread; look for the words “whole wheat” rather than just wheat. Limit artificial flavorings, colorings, high-fructose corn syrup and partially-hydrogenated oils.

From Karen Donato, R.D.: Sweeten children’s cereal and yogurt with fruit and/or just a bit of honey instead of buying the pre-sweetened variety, which ignite cravings for more refined sugars.
Children should indulge in no more than two hours of “screen time” a day, meaning television, computer and video/handheld games combined. Excess weight is highly correlated with sedentary viewing time.