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By Susan Bowerman, M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D.

There's no denying it – as a nation, we're getting heavier and heavier. And, our poor diets and sedentary lifestyles are affecting our kids, too. Just as adults are struggling with the "battle of the bulge", statistics show that our kids are getting heavier and that they are experiencing obesity-related health problems at very young ages.

Parents face an uphill struggle when it comes to getting kids to be more active and to eat healthy foods. Like adults, many kids face pressures of too much work and too little time for leisure-time activity, and the lure of television, video games or surfing the net often keeps them indoors. Food choices are influenced by taste, cost and convenience, and many foods are marketed as "cool" – something kids may value more than healthy nutrition.

Ultimately, parents are responsible for helping kids to make proper choices, and making sure there are healthy foods at home is a great place to start. Parents also need to set an example for their kids by eating right and staying active, too. Here are some tips to help your child eat smart and play hard:

1. Keep a bowl of fresh whole fruit on the kitchen counter where it can be seen, or some cut up fruits or vegetables in plain view when the refrigerator door is open. By making these items convenient and easy to consume, kids are more likely to eat them.
2. Take kids to the grocery store with you and use the time for some nutrition education. Older kids can learn how to read food labels, and often enjoy making comparisons between items and trying to find healthy alternatives. You can also do some negotiating with your kids by selecting items together that you both agree are acceptable.
3. Get your kids involved in food preparation. Children are much more likely to eat foods when they have helped to prepare them. If you enjoy cooking, encourage your child to try new foods by preparing new dishes with you.
4. Be patient when trying to get kids to try new foods. Studies show that repeated exposure does work – so keep offering foods, and encourage kids to try "just a bite". It may take more than a dozen tries, but it's worth the effort.
5. Be a good role model. It's difficult for busy parents to put a balanced meal on the table every night, but kids need to know that their parents value their own nutritional intake. Try to include veggies or a salad at mealtimes, and serve fruit for dessert.
6. Help your kids (and yourself) with portion control. Serve foods from the kitchen, rather than placing serving dishes family-style on the table, to avoid taking "just another spoonful". Studies show that we tend to eat what we are served – whether it's a little or a lot – and empty plate usually signals that we're finished.
7. Don't be a couch potato yourself. Your kids need to know that you value an active lifestyle. Get outdoors with them for a bike ride, a jog, or to shoot some hoops, and make sure they know how good you feel when you get your blood pumping.
8. Plan ahead. It's easier said than done, but planning meals ahead of time, making a shopping list, and preparing meals in bulk so you have extras on hand can help make evening meals less stressful.
9. Snack smart. Active kids need snacks, but typical snack foods are loaded with fat and sugar. Keep the sodas and chips out of the house, but have fruit, yogurt, string cheese, nuts or soy nuts or healthy cereals on hand for those snack attacks. Kids also like making their own smoothies, so keep some milk, fresh or frozen fruit and some protein powder around and let them experiment.
10. Build exercise into your day, and encourage your kids to do the same. If you're on the phone, walk around the house or yard while you talk, instead of sitting down. Find errands you can walk to, rather than taking the car. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and park a few blocks away from the mall.

Susan Bowerman is a consultant to Herbalife.

Even though I’m a dietitian, my clients frequently ask me about exercise as part of their weight loss plan. Since managing weight effectively depends on calorie balance, it makes sense that we talk about not only diet (calories in), but exercise (calories out), too.  Most simply want to know how much…or, sometimes, how little…exercise they need to do in order to lose weight, or to keep off weight that they’ve already lost. So here are some of the key things I tell them about exercise and body weight:

• Trying to lose weight through increased activity alone is tough to do. To lose a pound in a week’s time – strictly through exercise – you’d need to burn up an extra 500 calories a day, above and beyond your current activity level.  That’s no small task.  You’d need to hike uphill for an hour with a 10-pound backpack or swim laps for 90 minutes – without stopping. Trying to lose weightonly through increased activity – or only by cutting your calories – won’t be nearly as effective as a combination of diet and exercise.
• Cutting calories may cause your metabolic rate to drop somewhat. Your metabolic rate represents the number of calories your body burns just to keep basic processes going  - and is a big part of your ‘calories out’.  But your metabolic rate can dip a little when you cut back on your eating.  So even though your ‘calories in’ may be lower, your ‘calories out’ can drop, too – and leave you more or less in calorie balance.
• Strength training can help to increase metabolic rate.  When people think ‘exercise’, they usually think aerobic exercise, like biking, swimming or jogging.  But strength training is important, too – in part because it helps to build lean body mass, which can bump up your metabolic rate and help offset the drop in calorie burn that takes place when you cut your calories.
• It’s easy to make mistakes when counting calories – both in and out. People tend to overestimate the calorie cost of the exercise they do – and underestimate the number of calories they eat.  Which helps explain the frustration many people feel when they’re sure they’re doing ‘everything right’ – but the scale just won’t budge.
• You need a lot of exercise to lose weight, but you need even more to prevent it from coming back. Once you’ve lost it, regular activity is critical when it comes to keeping weight off.  But it takes more than a leisurely stroll around the block. Members of the National Weight Loss Registry – people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year – burn an average of about 2800 calories a week in exercise.  That’s the equivalent of about 90 minutes of exercise – like a briskfour-mile walk – every day.
• Exercise is key to good health and anything is better than nothing.  When people hear that they might need an hour or more of exercise a day to keep their weight under control, it can be a little daunting.  But don’t let the numbers discourage you.  Do what you can, do it regularly, and try to go a little farther – or work out a little harder – each time.

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.

As the seasons change, our bodies are adapting to changes in the environment, too. Pay a little extra attention to your diet, not only to keep you healthy during the winter months, but also to help you avoid winter weight gain.