Behavior Modification of child to become overweight

It is important to modify the behaviors that led your child to become overweight and these include:

Limiting Television: you should limit television viewing to about one or two hours each day (this includes playing video games or using the computer). Watching television doesn't use up many calories and it encourages eating unhealthy foods and unhealthy habits.

Healthy Eating Habits: your child should eat three well-balanced meals of average size each day, plus two nutritious snacks. Discourage skipping of meals (especially breakfast).

Snacks: you should limit snacks to two each day and they can include low-calorie foods, such as raw fruits or vegetables. Avoid using high calorie or high fat foods for snacks, especially chips, cookies, etc.

Drinking: you should encourage your child to drink four to six glasses of water each day, especially before meals. Water has no calories and it will help you to feel full. Other drinks can include diet sodas and lowfat milk. Avoid letting your child drink regular soft drinks or fruit juices, as they are high in calories (150-170 calories per serving).

Diet Journal: help your child to keep a weekly journal of food and beverage intake and also of the amount of time that is spent watching television, playing videogames and exercising. You can also record your child's weight each week (but do not weight your child every day).

Tips of Good Health Habits

1. Start your day with a healthy breakfast- People who eat breakfast are less likely to overeat later in the day and are less inclined to pack on the pounds. Children who eat breakfast have the tendency to perform better in school, and adults, better at work.

2. Drink lots of water throughout the day, the more the better. A good amount to aim for is at least four to six glasses per day. In fact drinking a glass of water when you first get out of bed in the morning is an excellent way to get a jumpstart on your day.

3. Variety is the spice of life- Get into a habit of eating a variety of different foods with your meals, just make sure that at least five servings are fruits and vegetables.

4. Eat plenty of lean, high protein foods in your daily diet such as lean meat, fish, chicken and beans. Stay away from salted and processed meats. Also eat grains, whether they be in the form of wholegrain cereal, breads etc. Grains provide the body with fiber, iron and B vitamins and are therefore a necessity.

5. Milk is more than just delicious; it is very good for you.

6. Some foods, such as potatoes and cheese often get a bad rap as being extremely fattening. Perhaps it is a reputation they do not deserve because “everything in moderation” is a good rule of thumb to live by.

7. Beware of excessive intakes of caffeine. Avoid coffee, soft drinks and chocolate. It can cause dehydration.

8. Take vitamins on a regular basis.

9. Adopting the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle-Vegetarians and vegans even more so, need to supplement their diets with vitamins to replace what they no longer receive from specific kinds of foods.

10. Dieting can be dangerous.