Just in time for Halloween, I began reviewing timely new research from the American Dietetic Association. The study, which included more than 1,000 parents and children, finds that kids who are given the choice of primarily junk food over healthy food interpret it as a sign that they are unworthy. Another survey in this study shows that children ages 8 to 17 have a tendency to be less satisfied with their body when they feel their diet is less nutritious; they spend less time being physically active; they have dieted; or they have had someone in their family be negative about their weight.

In case you've missed the statistics about obesity in children, about one of five American kids is overweight enough to be considered obese. This number has doubled in the past thirty years. The statistics for Texas kids are even worse.

In addition to putting kids at higher risk for health problems like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, significant weight also can tax kids' developing musculoskeletal system, which leads to debilitation and makes exercise extremely painful and difficult. Most obese kids don't grow out of it.

Poor diet and inactivity primarily explain this trend. There are challenges to encouraging children to be active that I have addressed before in this column and will address again. But the other part of the equation is that too many kids are eating poor diets: not enough fresh vegetables and fruits and too much highly refined and high fat food.

I'm not advocating heavy restrictions; instead, parents need to encourage healthy eating habits, starting with offering healthy options as the first choices for snacks. Interestingly, the ADA study found that parents may be out of touch with why kids are eating. For instance, the study finds that parents overestimate younger children's hunger and underestimate the extent to which children eat because they are bored, depressed, angry, or sad, or depressed.

So what does this have to do with Halloween?

Well, you and I both know the kids are going to come home with a pillowcase full of junk at the end of the month. And, really, it's the last thing they need.

If you're wondering what to do with the sugar spoils, I suggest putting them in difficult-to-open cans or jars and hiding 'em in a cabinet. Dole out a couple of pieces a day and throw out as much of it as you can get away with.

Another clever option is to dredge-up the candy witch (as explained in this month's Cover Story): have your kids leave-out their candy on Halloween night so the "witch" can replace it with a toy.

Sure, Halloween is once a year and the kids should have some fun. Just don't be tricked into thinking your little ones will interpret your sweet-toothed generosity as caring. They want us to set limits. And if we care about their health, we should.

Resources:

http://sctc-storm.org/physicalfitness/webpage/fnce_adafsurvey

http://wellpoint.com/healthy_parenting/mealtimetips.html

Alternatives to Handing-Out Candy:

• Sugar-free gum

• Cheese sticks

• Juice boxes

• Packages of nuts or raisins

• Packages of instant cocoa mix

• Peanuts in the shell

• Non-food treats: stickers, pretty rocks or fossils, crayons, pencils, colored chalk, erasers, whistles, baseball or game cards, or spiders and worms (preferably fake!)