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Then there are the sweet fruit juices, the yummy happy meals, the tasty fruit snacks and the sugary soft drinks. Before you know it, the holidays roll around and promote chocolate hearts, marshmallow bunnies, Halloween candy and candy canes. With the increasing popularity of video games and television programming and lack of physical activity, it’s becoming increasingly harder to raise a fit child.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has tripled since 1980. Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese as adults. That statistic increases by 10 percent when a parent is overweight. These alarming studies illustrate how important a parent’s role in promoting family fitness has become. After all, for the first 18 years of a child’s life, parents are able to control and manage most of their child’s daily activities and food consumption. Raising a fit family comes with many challenges, but with the right attitude, consistency, determination and desire, your family can beat the statistics.

“My child is a picky eater.”
Establishing a healthy routine from the beginning sets your kids up for good habits in the future. Not only is nutritious eating positively encouraged in their youth, but it also trains your child’s taste buds to desire healthy and naturally delicious foods.

“We enjoy healthy eating as a family,” states Yolanda Dixon, 2004 Miss Bikini Universe, short class. With kids ages 10, 4 and 2, Dixon understands first-hand how challenging it is to promote healthy eating with young children. “When you make these things a priority from the beginning, children will see eating healthy as part of their normal routine,” she says. “My kids have never had a problem eating vegetables or other healthy foods because that is what has been given to them since they were born.”

Training your child’s taste buds requires you to constantly experiment with new foods and recipes. It involves creativity and consistency, for it’s important to never give up trying to make your “picky eater” into a child willing to try new things.

“I don’t have time to cook.”
Not cooking is often another way of saying that your family eats out too much. Either they are eating too much fast food or they are consuming a lot of processed foods that come in a box or a bag. According to an article titled, “Effects of Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake and Diet Quality Among Children in a National Household Survey,” in Pediatrics (January 2004), nearly one third of U.S. children ages 4 to 19 eat fast food every day, resulting in approximately six extra pounds per year, per child. It is also noted that fast-food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970.

Raising a healthy family requires effort, for it isn’t easy breaking the bad habit of not spending enough time preparing healthy foods at home. “I make eating healthy a group effort,” says Tosca Reno, Oxygen columnist and best-selling author of “The Eat Clean Diet” book. “When my kids were younger, I let them help me plan meals and shop for healthy groceries. By giving your family a voice in the decision making process, they are more willing to try new, healthy foods.”

When you constantly eat fast food, Chinese takeout and pizza, not only are the children not involved in the food-making process, but as a result, they lose reverence for foods they consume. “Make cooking and meal times real family events,” suggests Reno. “Sitting down to dinner is a wonderful way to make sure that your family is eating well and spending quality time with each other.” By allowing your kids to shop for nutritious foods, cook healthy recipes and be involved in the decision making process, you are allowing them to take ownership over their personal diet.

“All he wants to do is play video games.”
Video games are much more intriguing than the Super Mario and Tetris games most parents grew up with. Now, games are action packed with cool graphics, special effects and personal options. A single game could take up hours of sitting and staring at a television or computer screen. Instead of running around, shooting basketballs and playing flag football, kids are simulating physical activities with their thumbs on a PlayStation controller.

National guidelines recommend 150 minutes of physical activity each week for elementary children and 225 minutes for older children. That breaks down to about 20-30 minutes of physical activity every day. Emily Krestchmann, personal trainer and fitness coordinator for Fitness without Borders, a fitness nonprofit organization for kids, suggests that getting your kids active requires you to find something they enjoy doing. Being your child’s fitness advocate becomes increasingly important as the child ages. Krestchmann adds, “Parents don’t realize how much influence they have in their children’s lives as they approach middle school. So it’s important to establish healthy habits and active routines before you start losing control over their lifestyle as they enter high school.”

Teach your kids that exercise is more than just running around the track. Exercise is moving your body, whether it means jumping on a trampoline, hiking up a hill, swimming in the ocean or dancing freely around your bedroom. You can also get them involved by getting active with them. “I dance with my children all the time. We turn our living room into a dance floor on a daily basis. We enjoy physical activities as a family by riding bikes, taking walks and skiing,” says Dixon.

Besides re-defining what “fitness” means to them, it’s also important for parents to create time limits to their television watching and video games. According the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids and teens 8 to 18 years old spend nearly four hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost two additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games. Longer time spent in front of a television screen increases a child’s chances of being overweight and developing sedentary habits.

“I am not always present to promote good habits.”
Not having time to teach your children healthy habits is a nicer way of saying that you are probably not leading by example. Most overweight kids have overweight parents. After all, they eat what you eat, do what you do and model after your lifestyle.

“Children learn by example so you need to practice what you preach,” reminds Dixon. “My children see the hard work, dedication and fun that I have when I compete and get ready for a show. My oldest daughter was so intrigued that last year she decided to join in and compete in the Jr. Fitness division. It has been such a rewarding experience to share my passion for the sport of fitness with my daughter.”

Reno adds, “Your children will learn to be healthy through watching you. If they see you eating well and exercising regularly, they’ll be much more likely to pick up those habits themselves.”

Raising a fit child is more than making them eat fruits and vegetables. It requires a parent to experiment with different foods, be involved in their physical training, set boundaries for unproductive activities and most importantly, be a positive and healthy role model.