With families settling into their back-to-school routines, it's a good time to remind parents that 1 in 5 children in the U.S. have obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts say teaching kids about good choices in the school cafeteria could lead to better food choices down the road.
"It's going to teach them a lot of really good skills about how to make food choices in a food environment," said Consumer Reports registered dietician Amy Keating. "It's no different than when they're going to go into a convenience store."
For students buying lunch at school, Keating suggests parents and kids look over the school lunch menu together. She tells parents to encourage healthy choices, rather than pointing out what you don't want your kids to eat.
"You're going to have to reinforce it, but it pays off to just stick with it," Keating said.
Packing lunch just as tricky
When you're shopping for packed lunches, Keating says don't be fooled by packaging such as images of fruit on juice boxes or kid-marketed yogurts with added sugars.
Keating says when Consumer Reports looked at 4-ounce cups of yogurt, "we saw a range of added sugars, depending on which brand you pick, from about five (grams), which is just about a teaspoon, to 11 grams of added sugar, which is almost 3 teaspoons," she said.
When packing school lunches, Keating says involve your child in food prep, and hit on all the major food groups
"For fruits I would pick something sliced or a handful of grapes," she said, rather than giving a child a full apple or orange that may go untouched.
She says to rely less on packaged, processed meat and swap for proteins like diced chicken, hummus or Greek yogurt.
"Real food, but in simple combinations," Keating said.
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