For Families, Small Steps Can Trim Fat

The first step to treating overweight or obese children often involves persuading families to make incremental changes. Banning fast food or telling a family that potato chips are forever off limits is doomed to fail, experts say. But they also emphasize that it's a parent's responsibility to provide healthy food and to minimize the supply of junk.

Here are some tips experts recommend for families of overweight or obese children.

· Emphasize choices. Instead of buying four kinds of snack cakes, buy only one. If a child drinks three sodas a day, cut back to one or switch to diet soda; substitute water or skim milk for two portions. At a fast-food restaurant, order a hamburger instead of a triple cheeseburger.

· Involve children. Changes are more likely to be successful if the child has suggested them rather than if they are imposed without consultation.

· Adapt activities. If it's too dangerous to play outside or if supervision is an issue, put on a CD and encourage the child to dance for 30 minutes indoors.

· Remove TV. Children should not have a set in their room, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Television ads promote a steady diet of high-fat foods, and watching TV supplants more active pursuits.

· Consider alternatives. Many families rely on fast food because it's easy and they're pressed for time. Instead of a fast-food dinner, Children's Hospital nutritionist Kelly Sinclair suggests a grocery store rotisserie chicken, a bag of salad and a box of quick-cooking rice. For a family of four, she said, it's cheaper, more nutritious and takes about the same time to prepare as waiting in the drive-through line.

-- Sandra G. Boodman

Sources: Reginald Washington, Nathaniel Beers, Kelly Sinclair