How to Get Your Kids Healthy

The best nutrition advice to keep your adolescent healthy includes encouraging him to:

• Eat a variety of foods
• Balance the food you eat with physical activity
• Choose a diet with plenty of 100% whole grain products, vegetables and fruits
• Choose a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol
• Choose a diet low in refined and processed sugars and salt
• Choose a diet that provides enough calcium and iron to meet their growing body's requirements.

You can also help promote good nutrition by setting a good example. Healthy eating habits and regular exercise should be a regular part of your family's life. It is much easier if everyone in the house follows these guidelines, than if your child has to do it alone. You should also buy low-calorie and lowfat meals, snacks and desserts, low fat or skim milk and diet drinks. Avoid buying high calorie desserts or snacks, such as snack chips, regular soft drinks or regular ice cream.

The Food Guide Pyramid isn't ideal, but it's a good starting point to learn the basics of how to get your kids healthy.  The Food Guide Pyramid shows a range of servings for each food group. How much you actually eat depends on your age and activity level. Schoolage boys and girls require about 1600 to 2400 calories each day, depending on their age and activity level. Once they hit their growth spurt, girls require an additional 200 calories and boys 500 calories. School age children will therefore require between the low and middle range of servings. Children who are overweight and dieting should at least eat the lowest range of servings.

When determining how many servings to eat, it is important to look at the serving size. Larger portions should count as more than one serving, and smaller portions will count as only a part of a serving.  Remember that your child should have a smaller portion than you, sometimes less than half of what you are eating if they are under 10 years old.  Don't starve them, just give them the nourishment they need to grow up, not out!

You can also learn how to get your kids healthy by viewing some of our meals and recipe ideas.