Ways to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a problem that concerns more families than you can imagine. If you want your child to be healthy, here are some things you can do to prevent this problem.

First of all, you need to find a way to keep track of everything your child eats. You can keep a journal if you like, to make sure you have all the information that you need. You might be surprised to find out that things were not as you imagined. You might think that allowing the child to have junk food now and then is not that bad, but finding out how many times this happens might surprise you. Don't get disappointed. This is a common reaction as many people don't realize exactly what their children eat until they see it written. So keep a journal for at least one week to evaluate it after that period. This will also help you understand the portions your child eats and the ways you can change his habits.

Another thing you can do is to limit the opportunities the child has in eating junk food. In other words stop buying it. If you don't keep junk food in the house, your child won't eat it. Junk food is bad for your child in many ways. It is not a healthy food, it contains no vitamins and nutrients and above all it puts the child into the habit of buying and eating ready made food. This is an unhealthy habit you might have trouble changing in the future. Another thing you should know is that many juices are considered junk food as well. Ready made juices are concentrated and don't have any fruit juice in them. They also have a lot of added sugar that is not needed. Since there are not fruit in them, there are also no vitamins and if any vitamins are added, they are not from raw fruits but are also manufactured. It is like giving the child supplements. If you are too busy to make fresh juices, you can buy a juice machine. They are not expensive and are really easy to use. Your child can also use it as there is no need to use a knife and experiment with the fruits he prefers.

Another thing that might cause you a problem is an increased appetite. If your child is going through a phase of eating more, you don't have to tell him it is wrong. The one thing you can do is to plan your meals and trick the child by this great method. Let's assume you have cooked steaks. The most common thing is to make some French fries to go with it. Avoid doing so. Instead, cook some vegetable. You can boil some corn and carrots that compliment the flavor of meat and look very delicious as well. The colors will make the meal appetizing. They also taste great. Now let's say that the child is still hungry after eating his portion. You can allow the child to have a second serving of the vegetables. This way, you have avoided the option of giving your child two plates of potato chips for lunch.

The last thing to pay attention to is to keep a steady time for all meals. Your children should know when it is lunch and dinner time. This will help them eat fewer snacks in between.

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