Counseling

• Caloric requirements vary during middle childhood. Children should be encouraged to eat at least the minimum number of recommended daily servings from each of the five major food groups every day.

• Discuss the importance of healthy eating behaviors. Provide guidance to children on increasing the variety of foods they eat and guidance to parents on incorporating new foods into their children's diet.

• Encourage children to make healthy food choices that are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid.

• Physical activity places additional demands on the body. The number of serving sizes may need to be modified for children participating in vigorous physical activity.

• Encourage children to eat a snack or meal--consisting mostly of carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein, and a small amount of fat--2 to 3 hours before vigorous physical activity and again within 2 hours after physical activity.
  

• Suggest healthy snacks that can be eaten when a child is traveling (e.g., low-fat yogurt and milk, frozen yogurt, cheese, bananas, grilled chicken or fish sandwiches, thick-crust cheese or vegetable pizza, muffins, bagels).
  

• Encourage children to drink plenty of fluids when they are physically active. Discuss the risks of dehydration and recommend adequate fluid intake before, during, and after physical activity.

• Discuss healthy and safe ways for children to obtain and maintain a healthy weight (e.g., by practicing healthy eating behaviors and participating in regular physical activity). Emphasize that weight reduction through restricting food intake or other means is not advisable for growing children.

• Demonstrate how to monitor pulse rate, and encourage children to participate in aerobic physical activity at 60 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate.

• Discuss the risk of using performance-enhancing products (e.g., protein supplements, anabolic steroids). Explain that consuming a diet high in protein or using protein supplements can be harmful and will not make muscles larger.

• Explain that adolescent males and physically active adolescent females need to eat the maximum number of recommended daily servings from each of the five major food groups every day. Most adolescent females need the middle ranges of servings, especially when they are active or growing.
  

• Discuss the importance of healthy eating behaviors. Provide guidance to adolescents on increasing the variety of foods they eat.
  

• Encourage children to make healthy food choices that are based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid.

• Encourage adolescents to consume three servings or more per day from the milk, yogurt, and cheese group to meet their calcium needs, because bone density increases well into young adulthood (the 20s). Eating foods that provide enough calcium to obtain maximum bone density helps prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures later in life.

• Because physical activity places additional demands on the body, the Dietary Guidelines may need to be modified for adolescents participating in vigorous physical activity.

• Encourage adolescents to eat a snack or meal--consisting mostly of carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein, and a small amount of fat--2 to 3 hours before vigorous physical activity and again within 2 hours after physical activity.

• Suggest healthy snacks that can be eaten when an adolescent is traveling (e.g., low-fat yogurt and milk, frozen yogurt, cheese, bananas, grilled chicken or fish sandwiches, thick-crust cheese or vegetable pizza, muffins, bagels).

• Encourage adolescents to drink plenty of fluids when they are physically active. Discuss the risks of dehydration and recommend adequate fluid intake before, during, and after physical activity.

• Discuss healthy and safe ways for adolescents to obtain and maintain a healthy weight (e.g., by practicing healthy eating behaviors and participating in regular physical activity). Emphasize that weight reduction through dieting or other means is not advisable for adolescents who are still growing.

• Caution against rapid weight-loss techniques (e.g., severe food restriction, dehydration, purging) and explain their adverse effects on health and performance.

• Demonstrate how to monitor pulse rate, and encourage adolescents to participate in aerobic physical activity at 60 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate.

• Discuss the risk of using performance-enhancing products (e.g., protein supplements, anabolic steroids). Explain that consuming a diet high in protein or using protein supplements can be harmful and will not make muscles larger.