Helping Your Overweight Child By
10 Positive Lifestyle Changes

1. Don't think "diet." Think healthy lifestyle. Get in touch with feelings -- your child's and your own. Help your child develop positive self-esteem through trust, validation of her needs, and unconditional love.
2. Don't use food as a reward or punishment.
3. Don't use food as the sole reason for family activities.
4. Parents need to teach by example. "Do as I do" always works better that "Do as I say."
5. Parents need to learn to set fair and appropriate limits that apply to all family members.
6. Learn to slow down at meals and enjoy this family time. Talk about what everyone is doing, tell jokes or stories, maybe even do spelling or geography quizzes!
7. Learn to eat only when hungry: don't reach for a second helping from a too-convenient bowl on the table. Instead, serve meals from the stove.
8. Try various activities until you find one your family likes the best. Opt for non-competitive sports to participate in together - skate, bike, swim, or dance.
9. If, and only if, the opportunity and desire are present, encourage participation in competitive sports such as baseball, tennis, and soccer.
10. If you are concerned about the weight of your child, consult with your health care professional. Together you can determine whether your child has a weight problem that needs to be addressed.

Copyright © 2002, Caroline J. Cederquist, M.D., all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission

For much fuller help, please read Dr. Cederquist's excellent book Helping Your Overweight Child.

Also, please look at her chef quality line of meals that I believe are the best meals for taste, nutrition and simplicity in the US currently. In my opinion, nothing in any supermarket can touch these in flavor and health.

Her Web site is: www.drcederquist.com

Her Gourmet Meals page is: http://www.drcederquist.com/shop/plistings.php3?category=meals

Happy Dining!

Dr. James

James L. Schaller, MD, MAR
Naples, FL