Portion control is a strategy that everyone can use in order to facilitate weight loss and prevent childhood obesity. Portion sizes for children are smaller than those for adults and should be taken into account accordingly. It is easy to portion out child sizes; all you need is your kid’s hand! For whole grain, like brown rice or whole-wheat pasta, a serving is about the size of your child’s fist. This is also how to measure a serving of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products (i.e. yogurt). A serving of cheese is different however, and should be measured as the size of your child’s thumb. For snacking and snack foods, about the amount that your child can fit in their hand is enough. The portion sizes will change as your child gets older and their hand also gets bigger. Camp Shane weight loss camp for children and teens emphasizes portion control by planning the serving size of each meal accordingly. Our team of nutritionists make sure that kids are not only eating healthy, but also eating the right amount in order to see weight loss results. It’s easy to control portion size at home also. Parenting magazine has identified some signs that you can you use in order to see if you are giving your child portion sizes that are too large.

5 Signs You Could Be Feeding Your Child Too Much

1. They push their food around their plate (or play with it) and don’t finish what you give them.

2. They aren’t hungry for their next meal or snack, which they normally would have eaten.

3. The amount of food on your kid’s plate is close to the amount that you have on yours.

4. The first thing that you do when your kid is upset or tired is to give them a snack. What kids really need is affection. They should be hugged, given some quiet time, or given a drink (dehydration can cause hunger and tiredness) instead.

5. Their clothes are getting too tight, especially in the chest, waist, or rear, even though the length is still fine. It is easier for some parents to see that their children have gained weight by noticing how their clothes fit than just by looking at their kid.

Written by Camp Shane Nutritionist, Jessica Bouchard

Source: http://www.parenting.com/article/Child/Recipes–Nutrition-For-Children/Portion-Control-for-Kids

Source: http://www.hlconline.org/parents.html

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Tags: Childhood Obesity, portion size, weight loss, weight loss camp

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 2:47 pm by The Shane Nutrition Staff and is filed under Childhood Obesity, Healthy Eating, Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.