How can you tell if you have an eating problem, if you are too fat or too thin? Kids who are normal eaters sometime worry that underlying compulsions could flare up and take control of their lives, causing sudden overeating, overweight, and a ruined appearance and life quality. Other kids who struggle with on-going eating-related fears and problems, assume that such quirky or immoderate eating behaviors are perfectly “normal” and do not require attention or concern.

Becoming a healthy eater requires that you become educated and smart about what healthy eating is. Becoming “food smart” is not about learning to calculate grams of fat or limiting one’s fat intake; nor is it about studying nutritional labels, or counting calories. Healthy eating is balanced and moderate eating, consisting of nourishing meals eaten at least three times a day. Healthy eaters eat a wide variety of foods, and maintain a physically active lifestyle. Food is not medicine that must be eaten in rigidly prescribed ways.
Healthy eating offers a great deal of leeway. You may eat too much or too little; you may consume foods that are sometimes more, sometimes less, nutritious. The bottom line, however, is that you fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough of the right kind of foods to keep your body strong and your mind alert. If you can do that, you can trust your body to look and feel good, and to perform optimally.

Quiz: Do you

* Skip meals?
* Avoid all sweets?
* Diet to be thin?
* Eat only fat-free or light foods?
* Count calories?
* Eat only when you are hungry?
* Restrict certain kinds of foods?
* Take pills to control your appetite?
* Read food labels?
* Calculate fat grams?
* Fill up on diet Coke rather than eat lunch or nutritious snacks?
* Drink soda pop instead of water?
* Feel guilty when you eat foods containing fat or sugar?
* Feel embarrassed to eat in front of others?
* Believe that you must never leave the dinner table feeling full or satisfied?


If you answered “yes” to any number of the above questions, you are probably not a healthy eater. It is likely that you share some common misconceptions about healthy eating with many others like yourself.

Become a Healthy Eater

* Eat lots of nutritious foods; you can never overeat nutritious foods.
* Don’t leave the table hungry.
* Have protein with every meal. It keeps you satisfied and energized.
* Never miss a meal.
* Make your lunch for school the night before, so you will sure to have it ready to take in the morning.
* Walk to school when you can; spend time out of doors as much as you can.
* Turn off the television. Don’t be taken in by commercials for sugary foods. Never eat in front of the television.
* Eat meals together with your family whenever possible.
* Trust your instincts to tell you when you are hungry and when you are full. Your body is wise and knows what it needs to survive and do well. Let it guide you. If at times you feel that you cannot trust yourself to know what you want and need to eat, ask for help from your parents.
* Ask your parents to make healthful foods available to you at home. Perhaps you would like to shop or cook together with them; don’t forget that serving and cleaning up afterwards can all be part of these wonderful, “together,” family times.


Healthy eaters are good problem solvers. Healthy eaters are kids who have learned to take care of themselves through exercising sound judgment and making wise decisions. Having learned how to recognize and meet their eating needs, they become adept at introducing moderation and balance into all aspects of their lives. Healthy eaters are empowered kids who live empowered lives, free of fear and misconceptions about who they are, and how to behave.

When kids are unable to take control of their eating, they are likely to be out of control of other aspects of their life as well. They may study too much, exercise too much, spend too much, talk on the phone too much, go to bed too late. They may communicate with their family too little, study too little, or help with household chores too little. How a person eats tends to be a metaphor for how a person lives, functions, and solves problems in other life spheres beyond food and eating.

Remember that dieting or restricting food in any form is the worst possible way to lose weight. Research shows that young people who diet during their childhood and adolescent years are far more likely to become obese in their adult years.