Rebuilding healthy eating habits

In this video, Dr Daniel Lamport discusses the importance of healthy eating habits, and ways to encourage them in the home.

For more suggestions to help improve your teenager’s diet and approach to food, see our list below:

• Try to eat together regularly. Mealtimes are important social events
• Encourage your teenager to eat breakfast. Experimental studies show that having breakfast can improve mood throughout the day
• Be a good role model – what you eat and how you eat can teach young people about nutrition
• Try to offer a range of different foods. Be brave and experiment with new foods.
• If a new food isn’t popular at first, be patient; it can take a few attempts before people start to enjoy new flavours.
• Offer water with every meal, and encourage drinking water between meals, instead of soft drinks
• If your child has no appetite, offer them very small portions. This is less overwhelming and easier to manage. They can always have more.
• Don’t keep junk food in the house. If it’s not there it can’t be eaten.
• Have biscuits, cakes and sweets on special occasions only.
• Encourage young people to participate in planning meals for themselves and the family
• Teach your child to cook. This can encourage them to get more involved in preparing meals and give them more control and knowledge.

Do you have any other suggestions or ideas that have helped encourage you, your family or your teenager to improve their diet? Why not share them in the discussion below. Don’t forget you can ‘like’ or reply to any comment.