Talking to Kids About Dieting

At some point, many tweens or teens talk about wanting to go on a diet. Maybe they don’t like the way they look in their clothes, or they’re influenced by friends or the ultra-thin models they see in magazines. If your child brings up dieting, it’s a great chance to talk about healthy habits and see how your family can make healthy food and exercise choices together.

Whether your child’s weight is healthy or unhealthy, it’s important to explain why “dieting” isn’t a good idea. Part of the issue with dieting is that it’s something people view as a quick fix. People often cut the portions they eat to very small, unhealthy amounts, or they ban certain foods. When kids show an interest in being healthier, it’s important to steer the conversation away from dieting to adopting healthy habits they can keep up.

“You need to say it’s not healthy to go on drastic diets,” says Marlene Schwartz, PhD, deputy director of the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. “It’s always a bad idea to do something extreme — to dramatically cut your calories or completely take out carbohydrates or fat. The fact that anything is extreme is always a bad idea. That just leads you down a bad road.” Continue reading