By Mary Daniels, Child Care Health Consultant, Child Care Aware of Kansas.
A New year often brings resolutions for weight loss and healthier lifestyles. For many, this is a recurring goal that we work toward yearly, and it is an important goal! National Healthy Weight Week was designated from January 15th-21st to highlight this importance and to help us reach the goal of maintaining a healthy weight.
Changing poor eating habits is key to weight management, but many find that easier said than done. Don’t be discouraged; simple changes make a significant impact!
Maintaining a healthy weight has positive effects on all of our body systems and sets an excellent example for those around us. Winter months and holiday seasons present tremendous opportunities to model healthy nutrition habits for the little ones in your life.
Like any other habit, learning the best choices from the start is easier than changing bad habits later. Taking a few steps to create a good nutrition foundation will help reduce the high incidence of childhood obesity and the likelihood of associated chronic illnesses.
These tips are a great place to start making impactful changes in maintaining a healthy weight for your children, families, and yourself!
- Make small recipe changes to replace less healthy ingredients with more nutritious ingredients.
- Make physical activity a priority in your daily schedule with fun, complete body movement activities.
- You don’t have to eliminate treats but limit them and make them unique.
- Talk with your little ones about the foods you serve.
- Take advantage of every teachable moment with your children and families to share information about good nutrition.
- Schedule water breaks in your daily schedule.
- Get plenty of rest.
For more tips and resources, check out the CDC’s link for maintaining a healthy weight at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children/index.html and visit your local Kansas Research and Extension Office resources at https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/humannutrition/
