Start Early to Stay Slim

When are children most at risk for developing obesity? According to Columbia University Medical Center researchers, the age between one and three, when children are transitioning from a milk-based diet to solid foods, is a critical time for parents to address healthy eating patterns. Once children edge into overweight, the risk for obesity significantly increases with each passing year.

Parents should realize that children model eating preferences and behaviors upon what their parents eat - and that it's up to parents to provide healthy foods and model healthy eating patterns.

Tips for promoting a healthy lifestyle for your toddler:

• Establish regular meal times and snack times, and let your child decide whether to eat and how much of the portion offered to eat. If your child doesn't eat enough at mealtime and asks for food between meals, remind him when the next scheduled snack time is. Constant snacking can lead to overeating.
  
• Offer a variety of healthy foods at meals and snacks, using the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children as a guideline (www.usda.gov ).
  
• Discourage eating meals or snacks in front of the TV, because it's hard for children to pay attention to feelings of fullness while distracted by TV.
  
• Involve children in meal planning and preparation. Take them shopping and use this time to discuss healthy foods, visit a vegetable farm to see how food grows, let them help to prepare dinner.
  
• Offer high calorie, low-nutrient foods such as cakes, candies, chips, and cookies only occasionally. Don't deprive children of treats, but don't let them think that these are everyday foods, either. Refer to sweets and treats as "sometimes food" rather than labeling it as "bad."
  
• Encourage physical activity by making family time of it. Play ball, ride bikes, skip and hop, take a walk.

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