What is a healthy diet?

Healthy eating is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and should be taught from an early age. Below are some general guidelines on how to help your child eat healthily. It's important to discuss your teen's diet with their doctor before making any changes to their diet or putting your teen on a diet. Discuss the following healthy eating recommendations with your teen to ensure he or she is following a healthy diet:

• Eat 3 meals a day with healthy snacks. Increase dietary fiber and reduce salt use.
• Drinking water. Try to avoid drinks with a lot of sugar. Fruit juice can be high in calories, so limit your child's intake. Whole fruit is always a better choice. Eat balanced meals.
• When cooking for your teen, try baking or grilling instead of frying.
• Make sure your teen monitors (and decreases, if necessary) their sugar intake.
• Eat fruits or vegetables for a snack.
• Reduce the use of butter and thick sauces. Eat more chicken and fish. Limit your consumption of red meat and favor lean meat whenever possible.

The USDA and the US Department of Health and Human Services have prepared the following food plate to help parents make food choices for children 2 years and older.

Cereals. Foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another grain are cereals. Examples include whole wheat, brown rice, and oatmeal.

Vegetables. Vary your vegetables. Choose a variety of vegetables, including dark green, red, and orange vegetables, legumes (peas and beans), and starchy vegetables.

Fruit. Any fruit or 100% fruit juice belongs to the fruit group. Fruit can be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and can be whole, chopped, or pureed.

Dairy. Dairy products and many milk-based foods belong to this food group. Focus on fat-free, low-fat, and calcium-rich products. Protein. Opt for protein. Choose low-fat or lean meats and poultry. Vary your protein routine - choose more fish, nuts, seeds, peas, and beans.

Oils are not a food group, but some, like nut oils, contain essential nutrients and can be included in the diet. Others, like animal fats, are solid and should be avoided.

Exercise and daily physical activity should also be part of a healthy diet.

Advice on diet and exercise

Try to control when and where your child eats by providing regular daily meals with social interaction and healthy eating demonstrations.

• Involve children in food selection and preparation and teach them to make healthy choices by allowing them to choose foods based on their nutritional value.
• For children who generally eat an American-style diet, reported intakes of the following foods are low enough to be of concern to the USDA: calcium, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. If possible, choose foods with these nutrients.
• Most Americans need to reduce the number of calories they consume. When it comes to weight management, calories do count. Controlling portion sizes and eating unprocessed foods helps limit calorie intake and increase nutrients.
• Parents are encouraged to provide recommended portion sizes for children. Parents are encouraged to limit children's video, television, and computer use to less than 2 hours per day and to replace sedentary activities with activities that require more exercise.
• Children and adolescents need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days to maintain good health and fitness and maintain a healthy weight as they grow.
• To prevent dehydration, encourage children to drink fluids regularly during exercise and to drink several glasses of water or other fluids after exercise.

Always talk to your child's doctor about his or her needs for a healthy diet and exercise.