Monday, August 17, 2009

Don't Put Kids on A "Diet" to Control Weight

A recent study found that in a group of girls followed over 10 years those who felt they had less control of their diet had higher BMI's and gained more weight than their piers. 
I have worked with overweight kids for years and I always stress this to parents, the best approach is to model a healthy lifestyle themselves and provide healthy choices in the home. Especially when there are siblings around, its awful to but a child on a "diet" then they feel pressured and different and are more likely to sneak their favourite foods when no one is looking.
The whole family would should be more active and eating healthy home cooked meals together. It also helps to get kids involved with cooking, so they have ownership over what they eat and have fun in the process.

Source:

12 comments:

  1. completely agree! 'diets' are just not beneficial for anyone in general. The parents should give the children the healthy options, and then they can then choose how much to eat :) Great link!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great tips Rebecca! My nephew is a little overweight but my sister refuses to even say the word diet to him. Instead she is trying to have healthier choices of food in the house and has enrolled him in the YMCA.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, I totally agree with you there. The focus should be on healthy eating and moderation, not on deprivation... especially when they're still growing and weight can fluctuate!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree 100%! especially with young-ish girls (thinking preteen). I had my own (totally unnecessary) experiments dieting in my teen years... heaven forbif if my parents had done anything to encourage that or further convince me it was necessary!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank goodness I found your blog again. All of a sudden Google had me following an insurance guy in Georgia instead of Chow and Chatter. Nice not to be lost. Great tips on dieting Rebecca. Thanks.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  6. Interesting to learn about this but yes, it shouldn't be diet for kids but more into healthy food instead.

    ReplyDelete
  7. kristen: yep too true
    Reeni: she is having a great approach lol
    Palidor: i agree
    LK: pleased your cool now lol
    Sam: I am sorry i changed to chowandchatter.com, that may be why oh and thanks
    Selba: i agree

    Love Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this post and completely agree!! I HATE the word "diet!"

    ReplyDelete
  9. I couldn't agree more. I'm part of that statistic, and while my Mum had the best of intentions, it set up a pattern in my life that has taken over a decade to change.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Diana: thanks
    Yo Yo No more: I agree i see it all the time in adults, so sad as I am sure the parents are only trying to help LOL

    ReplyDelete
  11. I used to always feel that it was "cruel" to put kids on a diet.It's so much easier when everyone in the house is following a healthy diet and an active lifestyle-that way the child doesn't feel singled out. Oh another thing I would stress on was "no eating in front of the tv"!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sweta: good point, my mum and dad always made us eat at the table as well

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails