Advice and resources : Healthy weight and keeping active in childhood

Overview

There are many reasons why keeping a healthy weight and staying active increases a child’s overall health and wellbeing.

Physical health: Being at a healthy weight and staying active reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. Carrying excess weight can strain the musculoskeletal system, which causes joint pain, arthritis, and orthopaedic problems later in life. It can also increase susceptibility to infections.

Development: Physical activity supports healthy growth and development of muscles, bones, and organs in children, contributing to overall physical wellbeing.

Mental health: Regular exercise releases endorphins, promoting positive mental health and reducing the risk of depression and anxiety in children. Being an unhealthy weight is often associated with low self-esteem, body image issues, and increased risk of depression and anxiety, impacting overall psychological wellbeing. 

Educational performance: Physical activity has been linked to improved cognitive function, concentration, and academic performance in children, enhancing learning and memory.

Social skills: Joining in with physical activities and sports can build confidence, encourages teamwork, communication, and cooperation, and develops good social skills and friendships.

Long-term habits: Building healthy habits early in life increases the likelihood of keeping them into adulthood, leading to a lifetime of better health outcomes.

Quality of life: Being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight enhances overall quality of life by increasing energy levels, improving sleep quality, and reducing the risk of injury.

If your child is overweight

Helping an overweight child requires a holistic approach focusing on healthy eating habits, physical activity, and positive lifestyle changes.

Provide a balanced diet: Encourage them to eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Limit intake of processed foods, sugary snacks, and drinks high in calories and added sugars. 

Portion control: Help your child understand about appropriate portion sizes and mindful eating habits to prevent overeating. Avoid using food as a reward or comfort mechanism. 

Family meals: Establish regular family meals to promote healthy eating habits and model balanced food choices. Involve your child in meal planning and preparation to increase their engagement and interest in nutritious foods. 

Limit screen time: Minimise sedentary activities such as watching TV, playing online games, or using electronic devices, encourage outdoor play and physical activities instead. 

Encourage physical activity: Aim for at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Find activities your child likes such as sports, dancing, swimming, or cycling to promote regular exercise. 

Be supportive: Offer positive reinforcement and encouragement rather than criticism or shaming. Focus on praising effort and progress.

Healthy role modelling: Set a positive example by adopting healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle as a family. Children often copy the behaviours of adults, so being a healthy role model is important. 

Create a supportive environment: Foster a supportive environment at home that promotes health and well-being. Encourage open communication about nutrition, body image, and self-esteem. 

If your child is still overweight despite changes to their diet and lifestyle please speak to your GP.

They can help rule out any medical issues such as emotional eating, stress, or a medical condition. 

If your child is underweight

Provide a balanced diet: Include foods rich in proteins, healthy fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Try food like nut butters, avocados, cheese, whole milk, dried fruits, and healthy oils into meals and snacks to boost calorie intake without increasing portion sizes drastically

Regular, healthy snacks: Encourage your child to eat small, frequent meals if they have a small appetite to give them consistent energy and nutrient intake.

Avoid 'empty-calorie' junk: Food and drinks such as sugary snacks, drinks and processed foods provide little nutritional value and can fill up a child without contributing to healthy weight gain

Regular physical activity: Excercise, like running, walking, or playing can help build their appetite, muscle development, and overall wellbeing

Create a positive mealtime environment: Avoid stress and pressure, to make mealtimes an enjoyable enjoyable for them to explore new foods and develop healthy eating habits

Keep an eye on their emotional health: stress, anxiety, or emotional issues can affect a child's appetite and eating habits, leading to weight loss.

If your child is still consistently underweight despite changes to their diet and lifestyle please speak to your GP.

They can help rule out any medical issues such as gastrointestinal disorders, thyroid problems, or genetic factors.

Fussy eating habits

Fussy or 'picky' eating in children is a common phase that many children go through.

You can encourage healthy eating habits by making small changes, such as: 

• offering a variety of nutritious options
• introducing new food items alongside familiar ones
• avoiding pressuring or forcing children to eat
• having a consistent meal routine
• creating a positive mealtime environment
• involving children in meal preparation
• being patient as they gradually expand their palate

• Read more advice about fussy eating

Tips for getting more active

Encouraging children to be active is so important for their physical and emotional health. Children need to be active for at least 1 hour every day. Here are our four top tips:

• Lead by example: Be physically active yourself and involve children in your activities
• Make it fun: use games, challenges, and play to keep them engaged
• Set limits on screen time: Encourage physical play instead of activities like watching TV or playing video games
• Involve the whole family: This can help with bonding and creating a supportive environment for staying active

Ideas for free activities you can try

• Outdoor games: play tag, or hide and seek in a nearby park or playground.
• Fitness challenges: set up fitness challenges like jumping jacks, push-ups, or squats and see how many repetitions children can complete within a certain time frame.
• Nature walks: explore local parks, trails or nature reserves. Encourage them to observe plants, animals, and natural features along the way.
• DIY obstacle courses: create obstacle courses using household items like chairs, boxes, balls, cones, ropes, and hoops.
• Playground workouts: visit local playgrounds where children can climb, swing, slide, and engage in imaginative play while getting exercise.
• Dance parties: have a dance party at home where kids can move to their favourite music and let loose.
• Balloon volleyball: blow up balloons and play volleyball indoors or outdoors using hands as makeshift paddles.
• Yoga for kids: follow along with online kid-friendly yoga sessions or lead simple yoga poses like downward dog, tree pose, and child's pose to promote flexibility and mindfulness.

Useful resources

NHS Fussy eating booklet 

Read the NHS guide on how to help a child to accept new foods and ways to support.