Family strategies for healthy eating

The best strategies for weight loss and management focus on healthy choices for the entire family, with parents serving as role models. These include:

• Eating breakfast. Teenagers who eat breakfast — compared with those who skip it — get more essential nutrients and have better overall eating habits. Whole-grain foods, fruits and low-fat dairy products are good breakfast choices.
• Having family meals. More-frequent family meals at home are associated with a better diet with fruits and vegetables, calcium-rich foods and fiber. Family meals are also linked to fewer poor eating habits such as skipping meals or binge eating.
• Planning and cooking together. Shopping, planning meals and preparing meals with children enables them to learn, practice and have ownership of healthy habits.
• Stocking healthy snacks. Keep healthy snacks on hand, such as fruits, vegetables, hummus, air-popped popcorn and low-fat cheese.
• Serving healthy drinks. Serve water, sparkling water, and low-fat or fat-free milk. Don't stock up on sodas or sweet beverages.
• Limiting screen time. Avoid meals and snacking in front of the television or computer. Extended screen time is associated with poor beverage and snack choices.
• Choosing healthy portions. Serve smaller portion sizes of meats and dairy, and serve larger portions of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.