Portion Control & Obesity Prevention for Children

Obese children run a significantly higher risk for acquiring Type 2 diabetes. This fact is enough to have parents scrambling for the best diet plan for their kids. Not all diets are effective for children, specifically because many eliminate entire food groups containing essential nutrients that children need to grow strong and healthy. A diet consisting of a variety of nutrients with proper portion control is a key factor in obesity prevention for children.

Sugar

• Sugar is a prime target of nutritionists. Diabetic diets prohibit consumption of foods high in sugar because diabetics have problems producing a chemical called insulin, which helps the body break down sugars. Non-diabetic children should limit their sugar intake as well, but simply eating sugar will not cause diabetes. Calories should be the main target when controlling a child's diet. Parents can allow children to include sugar in their diets, provided they limit the portions of sugary foods. Sugary foods are much higher in calories than other food groups like vegetables or grains; however, sugar-free foods often have as many calories as their sugar-full twins. As a result, eating two sugar-free cookies has just as many calories as two sugar cookies, causing the same amount of weight gain. Instead, limiting a cookie snack to one cookie a day is a much more effective strategy than offering a child sugar-free cookies.

Fat

• Fats are another "no no," in the world of dieting. The myth surrounding fats is that if you eat them you will become fat. This theory is false. Children, especially, need fat in their diet for growth and healthy skin and hair. Like sugar, fat contains more calories than other nutrients. Therefore, limiting the serving amounts is a proper solution to including them in a child's diet. Read the label on any product containing fat like butter or milk and factor in the recommended serving size. Limit your child's diet to two to three servings of fat per day. Switching to a lower-fat substitute is helpful if you are not increasing the portion size.

Daily Portions

• Serving sizes of pre-packaged foods can be found on the labels of the food. Stick to the serving sizes on the packages and then add them to your child's diet in the following way. Every day, your child should eat five servings of vegetables and fruits. They should have six servings of starchy foods like bread, pasta and vegetables that are high in starch like peas, potatoes and corn. Meat is high in protein, but lean meat is healthier for your child than fried meats or red meat. Offer your child about an ounce of meat at each meal. A good reference for an ounce of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. Limit snacks to one serving. Offer fruit as a substitute for desert and encourage your child to drink water in place of juice or soda any time possible.