Teach children nutrition's role in healthy lifestyle

BLACKSBURG, VA., Aug. 13, 2007 – Some of the best lessons a child can be taught are how to cook and how to make smart food choices.  

With childhood overweight an ever-increasing problem, teaching children food-choice skills is necessary to maintain good health, said Elena Serrano, Virginia Cooperative Extension nutrition specialist at Virginia Tech. According to experts, parents who provide children with skills to choose healthy food options at an early age can help curb many future health problems for their children.

Serrano has several suggestions for teaching children food choice skills:

1. Parents should rely on MyPyramid to ensure variety, balance, and moderation within their child’s diet. Providing a wide selection of healthy foods results in nutritious food choices by the child.
2. Choose sensible portion sizes not super sizes. Visit MyPyramid.gov to find the recommended number of servings for children. 
3. Sweets and high-fat foods should not be offered as rewards for behavior, celebration, or a reward for eating nutritious foods. Instead of using unhealthy foods like candy and sweets for rewards, offer rewards such as going to the movies, visiting the park or spending time together.
4. Parents should be prepared to “practice what they preach,” modeling nutritious food choices for children by making healthy choices themselves. They can create a healthy environment by always providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Expose children to new foods. Parents should be sure their children are familiar with many different varieties of nutritious foods especially fruits and vegetables. Being familiar with nutritious foods encourages children to select them. Allow children to help pick a new food item each week.

And while experts suggest that these guidelines best serve as early preventative measures, many parents of already overweight children can use the recommendations to help their children move toward a healthier weight and lifestyle.

If a child is obese, the family should consult a physician. Overweight children should not be placed on restrictive and weight-loss diets. Rather, parents should focus on providing healthy alternatives to fats, oils, and sweets and encouraging physical activity. By doing so, parents can slow the rate of weight gain in their children.

About Virginia Cooperative Extension

Virginia Cooperative Extension brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and locally based agents, it delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development. With a network of faculty at two universities, 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and Extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension provides solutions to the problems facing Virginians today.

Contact: Elena Serrano
Virginia Cooperative Extension nutrition specialist
Virginia Tech
(540) 231- 3464
serrano@vt.edu

Contact: Michael Sutphin
Writer
Communications and Marketing
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Tech
(540) 231-6975
msutphin@vt.edu

Writer: Susan Suddarth
Student Intern
Communications and Marketing
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Tech

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