According to the Kids Health website, adult diets are not appropriate for kids. Kids have different nutritional requirements as they grow and enter puberty. Many adult diets do not accommodate for additional vitamin and nutrient needs. When looking for healthy diets for obese kids, it's best to stick to the basics of well balanced meals, increasing exercise and eliminating sugary drinks.
Healthy Well Balanced Meals
Providing healthy well balanced meals at home will help overweight and obese kids get their weight under control. Have kids help pack lunches and snacks on the go so school-provided lunches and fast food stops are kept to a bare minimum. Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture "My Pyramid" to help guide meal planning and food choices will help to keep meals on track. The USDA encourages foods from the following food groups to be eaten in amounts that are generated by looking at the activity level, gender and age of an individual: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meats and beans and oils.
Healthy Diets Include Exercise
Kids need exercise to gain strength, coordination, confidence and to lay the foundation of a healthy adult lifestyle, says KidsHealth.org. Adults often think of exercise as visits to the gym, lifting weights and running. Exercise activities should center around being fun for kids, games of tag, dance-a-thons in the living room, organized sports or athletic activities. Avoid all activities that make kids feel like exercise is a chore or boring. It shouldn't be difficult to engage a child in climbing on the monkey bars, play capture the flag or a pick up game of soccer with some friends.
Avoid Sugary Drinks
Sugary drinks have become a main stay in children's diets. By eliminating these sugar filled, high-calorie drinks as part of a healthy lifestyle, many calories are not going to be consumed. An average can of soda pop contains 110 calories in 8 fl. oz. The Nemours Health and Prevention Services reports that teenage boys drink 24 oz. of soda pop a day, equaling 330 calories taken in daily by drinking pop. A pound is equal to 3,500 calories, it would take only 11 cans of pop to add 1 lb. of weight to a child. Avoiding sugary drinks will help drastically eliminate excess calories. Sugary drinks can be defined as sports drinks, sweetened teas, juices, coffee drinks and soda pops.
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