Involve the Whole Family in We... Health Article

Childhood weight control is a family affair. If both parents are lean, a child has a 9 percent chance of becoming obese, the National Institute of Health Care Management says. If both parents are obese, the child has a 60 to 80 percent chance of becoming obese.

Involving the whole family lifts a psychological burden off your child. "Then eating better foods isn't a punishment, but a new way of life," says Ronald Williams, M.D., a pediatric weight loss specialist in Hershey, Pa.

It's vital to balance the energy, or calories, that you take in and the calories that you burn. "The body is like a bank," Dr. Williams says. "You make deposits when you eat and withdrawals when you move." To help your child succeed:

• Be a role model. "If you set a good example, they will follow," says New York internist Erika Schwartz, M.D., author of The Teen Weight Loss Solution. "If you're not doing it for yourself, do it for your children."

• Set firm rules. Learn how to say "no" to your kids and how to set and enforce boundaries.

• Set specific, reachable goals. Limit TV time, for instance, and request a certain level of physical activity in a given period. 

• Praise and reward children. Compliment them for eating healthier snacks, or celebrate milestones with a CD. But never use food as a reward or withhold it as punishment.