In the last 30 years, the rate of childhood obesity has at least tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The potential health risks, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, make a healthy lifestyle essential for overweight children. Losing weight indoors adds more restrictions, but it is possible to get kids moving and healthy when they're stuck indoors.
Healthy Eating
Teaching your child to choose healthy food not only helps her lose weight now, it helps her stay a healthy weight in the future. Clear the junk food out of the cupboards so it doesn't cause temptation for your child or other family members. Avoid singling out one child with a special diet. Adopting a healthier diet for the entire family and enjoying those healthy meals together help your child improve her eating habits, according to Kids Health from Nemours. When you're stuck inside due to weather or other reasons, make a healthy snack with your child.
Healthy Beverages
The food your child eats isn't his only source of calories. Sugary juice and soda adds a significant amount of calories to a child's diet. Offer your child water or a mixture of water and juice while he enjoys his indoor activities. Squeezing some fresh lemon or orange juice into his water adds some flavor if he doesn't enjoy plain water.
Exercise Routines
Exercise offers many benefits beyond losing weight for children, according to Medline Plus. Exercise on a regular basis helps a child improve her confidence, reduce stress, sleep better and keep muscles, bones and joints strong. When your child can't go outside to run around, help her create an exercise routine indoors. To make it more appealing, set up different exercise stations to make a circuit. Lifting books instead of weights, jumping over a pile of stuffed animals and other improvised exercises make the activity more exciting. Dancing is a simple way for kids to get in some exercise indoors. Turn on some music, and encourage them to dance.
Indoor Active Games
If your child is reluctant to exercise, plan indoor games that get him active. The options are more limited indoors since there isn't as much space, but there are still plenty of games to play. Balloons work well in place of balls since they aren't hard and fall slowly. This reduces the chances of injuries or broken objects. Tie a string across the room as a net for a game of indoor volleyball. A mini obstacle course with blankets, chairs and pillows keeps the kids active. The Wii video game system offers an active game option for the kids who enjoy video games.
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