Ten percent of children between ages 2 and 5 are obese, and that jumps to 20 percent for those ages 6 to 11, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As children battle with excess pounds, they need to learn effective and safe ways to reduce their weight.
Involvement in Sports
Burning more calories than are eaten is an effective way to lose weight. However, kids are not likely to engage in a regular workout routine as adults might. One way around this is to get your child involved in a sport. This will allow her to have fun and learn new skills while being regularly active.
Find out what kind of sport your child would like to be involved with, whether it's a team sport, such as baseball, soccer or basketball, or an individual sport, such as tennis, cross country or swimming. To keep her active throughout the year, she might need to sign up for different sports as the seasons change. Once she is involved with a sport, make sure she is enjoying it. If not, help her pick a new sport to try.
Sliced Fruit
Fruit is a healthy, nutritious alternative to high-calorie and high-fat snacks that many kids enjoy. Another plus: Because of fruit's high-fiber content, your child will feel full longer than with other types of snacks.
Slice apples, bananas, pears, oranges, kiwi and strawberries into thin wedges that are easy to eat. That convenience is one reason kids like potato chips and other unhealthy snacks.
Choose Low-Calorie Beverages
Cutting liquid calories from a child's diet will help her lose weight. Many times, children -- and parents -- don't realize just how many unnecessary calories are ingested with liquids.
In a January 2009 article in USA Today, Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, suggests serving kids fat-free skim milk instead of whole milk to reduce unnecessary calories and saturated fat. And offer water when children are thirsty instead of sugary sodas or sports drinks.
Avoid Fried Foods
Fried foods provide a significant amount of additional calories and fat. When overweight children are trying to lose weight, they should avoid fried foods. Instead, provide your child with foods that have been grilled, broiled or steamed instead of fried.
Switch the Spreads and Dips
Children might be used to eating high-fat dips and spreads with their vegetables, fruits or sandwiches. But these dips and spreads add unnecessary calories and stunt weight loss. Your child can learn to eat foods without these dips and spreads, and cutting these foods from her diet will significantly reduce her calorie intake.
Replace dips and spreads, such as ranch dressing and mayonnaise, with hummus, ketchup or mustard. Give your child time to adjust to the tastes of these replacements.
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