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Healthy Eating For Children

Just about everyone you talk to will say at some time in their lives they have been on a diet, many adults worry to some extent about their weight but now it seems that increasingly children are worried about their weight too.

More so it’s becoming increasingly popular to be thin, teenage girls often fall into the category of worrying sometimes to the point of obsession about the weight. But is it good for children to actually go on a diet, the majority of children do not need to diet and they shouldn’t.

It doesn’t matter what food we eat it all contains calories and calories are energy, when we go on a diet to lose weight we are essentially trying to eat less calories than the body will use. Most children do not need to diet in this way because children unlike adults are still growing and developing and during this time they need a varied diet which includes healthy foods.

Some children may indeed be overweight but dieting in most circumstances is not the answer, children can do more damage to there health by dieting and children can be helped by encouraging them to eat more healthily and exercise more.

Though thin seems to be fashionable at the moment particularly with teenage girls there is no ideal body shape, some people have naturally bigger frames than others and will always look heavier than those with smaller frames.

If your child is particularly worried about their weight then a Doctor’s advice can be sought and they can check your child’s body mass index, this is done to check how much actual body fat your child has.

Occasionally your Doctor may recommend that your child does lose some weight but this is undertaken by your Doctor and children are often asked to visit a dietician who can explain how to safely reduce your child’s intake of calories while still obtaining the necessary nutrients.

Dangerous diets

Any diet that doesn’t include a variety of nutritional foods or one that doesn’t have enough calories can be dangerous for children. Some diets of this type are also the so called “fad diets” because these generally promise quick weight loss but require the person to follow very strict guidelines. These types of diets often ask a particular food group to be cut out completely or stick to eating one particular type of food.

What can children do?

All children can benefit from eating a well balanced diet and taking regular exercise, exercise is usually not a problem for children as most are generally active anyway, riding bikes, playing basketball and being involved in sports teams are all popular forms of exercise for children.

Try to get them to spend a little less time in front of the TV and more time out in the fresh air getting exercise, also encourage them to eat a variety of foods from different food groups including plenty of fruit and vegetables and less fatty snacks. Establishing good eating patterns and giving the body nutrients it needs will help build muscle and strong bones.