January 6, 2003 (USA TODAY) -- When adults want to lose weight, they often revamp their eating and exercise habits by choosing healthier foods and being more active. But losing weight is trickier for children and adolescents who have to eat what their parents buy or their schools serve and do the sports and activities that are available to them, pediatric weight-loss experts say.
That's why weight-loss success for children often depends on an overhaul of the family's lifestyle.
Parents have a great opportunity in the new year to take a look at their own eating habits and make some changes that could benefit the entire family, says Keith Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
"I never see a child who has better eating habits than his parents," he says. "Parents are captain of the ship here. Kids need to see their parents eating healthy foods."
Leonard Epstein, professor of pediatrics at the University of Buffalo and a leading researcher in childhood obesity, says most of the kids who are overweight have at least one overweight parent. "When we search for overweight kids with two thin parents, they are hard to find."
Almost 65% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese; overall, 20% to 30% of children in the USA are either overweight or at risk of becoming so, according to the latest government statistics.
Extra pounds take a toll on children, putting them at a greater risk of becoming heavy adults and increasing their chances of developing health problems such as type 2 diabetes. Chubby kids are often teased by their peers and have low self-esteem.
For some children, it might be a matter of maintaining their weight while they continue to grow, so eventually they are at a healthy weight for their height, experts say.
Children with about 15 to 20 pounds to lose can do so by following a balanced low-fat, low-sugar diet and becoming more active; those with more to lose should discuss it with their doctor, says Melinda Sothern, director of the Prevention of Childhood Obesity Laboratory at Louisiana State University's Pennington Research Center in Baton Rouge.
She recommends that families cut back on junk foods, control portions, increase fruit and vegetable intake, trim saturated fats (fatty meats and whole dairy products), cut back on snacking, reduce TV and computer time and increase physical activity.
Many parents are serving kids' portions that are far too big, Ayoob says.
"Some of these 6-year-olds eat like lumberjacks. Parents feed them like they are linebackers, but what they are doing is creating linebackers."
Rather than serving piles of fries, pasta and rice at meals, Ayoob recommends dishing up one piece of meat and a serving spoon full or rice, pasta or potatoes and offering unlimited fruits and vegetables to fill out the meal.
When parents try to revamp eating habits, they often try to do too much too soon, Ayoob says. He suggests making one change a month so that by the end of the year, they've changed 12 habits.
Among Ayoob's recommendations:
- Keep "impulse fruits" like grapes, clementines, small apples, small bananas and pears around the house. These foods are easy to eat without having to do much cutting and slicing.
- Practice the "Rule of One." When it comes to high-calorie foods, you're not going to go wrong if you allow one a day, Ayoob says. That might be one cookie or one soda.
- Build on healthy foods the child already loves. If they like apples or tomatoes, offer them every day. "Kids will eat a better diet and the parents don't end up in a food fight."
Sothern suggests:
