It can be very difficult to stick to a weight-loss plan. Between flashy advertisements for delicious-looking junk foods and your own feelings about food, you may find it hard to make good decisions. Peers can have a large impact on your diet, and your child's peers can have an even larger impact on her diet. Understanding how the people around you can influence your diet, both negatively and positively, can help you recognize and overcome the obstacle.
Children in Schools
Children often choose what they will eat out of their home-packed or school-purchased lunches without adult input. While you can pack a healthy lunch for your child, he may choose to eat only part of it, or he might be tempted to trade lunch items with friends in the cafeteria. A child bringing in something that his peers find strange or "yucky" may decide to abandon the item and fill up on sugary or salty fare that is more acceptable among his peer group. If most of your child's friends are throwing away a large portion of their purchased entree and only eating the dessert, your child may follow suit.
Advertisements
Kids as well as adults can be extremely influenced by what they see on television. Turn on any commercial television network and you will likely see advertisements for food, both healthy and unhealthy. While you may be able to see past the marketing strategies of attractive models selling food, your child may not be. If she sees cute children eating fast food on a television commercial, chances are good that she will ask for the same fast food.
Weight Loss Support Groups
Peers can have a positive effect on you if you are actively seeking to lose weight. Weight Watchers, for example, is a popular weight-loss support group that integrates weekly informative meetings with weigh-ins and menu plans. Stickers and other small prizes are given out to those meeting various weight-loss goals, and the camaraderie can create an incentive to strive toward weight loss and healthy living. At the University of Maryland Medical Center, members of the Bariatric Support Group can ask questions and share personal stories with others who have also had weight-loss surgery.
Overcoming Peer Pressure
One way to help your child overcome peer pressure to eat unhealthily is to model healthy food habits yourself, and to talk about the importance of adhering to a healthy diet. Your teenager may be encouraged to eat healthy foods if he has information about weight maintenance, avoiding disease and eating for strength and endurance if he is an athlete. You can avoid the temptation to cheat on a diet by making reasonable weight-loss goals, thus avoiding frustration, and by making friends who are on similar weight-loss or healthy-eating journeys.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Bariatric Support Group; Jan. 11, 2011
- Centers for Disease Control; Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating; Sept. 19 1998
- HelpGuide.org; Nutrition for Children and Teens: Helping Your Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits; Maya W. Paul et al; Feb. 2011
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