Unfortunately, overweight children are becoming increasingly common. This is usually due to incorrect eating habits, which can affect the child's entire life. Parents can instil better eating habits in their children and thus significantly reduce the risk of obesity.

 

Most children rely on the meals and eating habits they get at home until they are teenagers. Parents should be aware of this responsibility and set a good example for their children. Even without a strict diet, the worst eating habits can be swapped for child-friendly foods.

 

- Water or spritzer instead of juice and lemonade. You can get children used to drinking drinks mixed with water (50:50) from an early age. This way they still have the sweet flavour of juice, but with half the calories.

 

- Low-fat ice cream instead of sweets. This is better for the teeth and at least gives the children the calcium they need to grow.

 

- Pudding instead of cake. Cakes and pastries are extremely high in fat and often not very filling. As a result, children eat more than they need. A delicious vanilla or chocolate pudding has less fat and calories and fills them up quickly.

 

- Cheese and fruit instead of chocolate. Put out a bowl of diced cheese and pieces of fruit (grapes, apples, pears, peaches) as a snack between meals. Most children like cheese and fruit. In summer, a piece of watermelon also tastes good.

 

- Kebab instead of bockwurst. Bockwurst makes you fat and is not very nutritious in comparison. A kebab with salad is better.

 

- Hamburgers instead of chips and fried food. Deep-fried food is extremely fatty and unhealthy. If it has to be fast food, a hamburger with lettuce and tomato is the better choice.

 

- Vegetable snacks with a tasty dip instead of potato crisps. Most children enjoy sliced carrots or peppers and tomatoes with a spicy yoghurt dip just as much.

 

- Popcorn instead of nachos. At the cinema and when watching TV, it's better to eat lots of popcorn, as it has relatively few calories and hardly any fat.

 

- Muesli bars instead of chocolate bars. Even though muesli bars can be huge calorie bombs, they are healthier than high-fat chocolate bars. Also, a large proportion of the calories in muesli bars are burnt off by the body. In addition, muesli bars provide long-term energy, whereas chocolate bars only have a short-term effect.

 

- Fruit compote instead of apple strudel. Apple strudel baked in puff pastry is extremely high in calories. A dessert made from apple sauce mixed with fresh quark can taste just as delicious.