Fast Tips for Cutting Fast Food

Hamburger and french fry dinners can add 1,000 calories or more at a sitting.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an active 8-year-old girl only needs 1,400 to 1,800 calories for an entire day, an active 8-year-old boy needs 1,600 to 2,000. So those burgers could set your child up for weight problems by ages 3 to 5 and certainly by elementary school.

According to 2005 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. Among children and teens ages 6 to 19 years, 16 percent -- or more than 9 million -- are considered overweight.

You can and should teach your child how to select more nutritious foods. You also can take the excitement out of fast food so it's less desirable. Here's how:

Be a role model

Remember to set an example. Your words won't count if you're eating a king-sized order of fries. Meals prepared at home should be nutritious, contain 30 percent or fewer of their calories from fat and have an abundance of fruits, veggies and grains, and adequate protein. Then, on the rare outing for fast food, set an example by ordering healthier choices and smaller servings.

Limit portion sizes

Even young children are apt to overeat when offered large quantities of food, according to researchers.

Establish guidelines

Require that your children order low-fat milk instead of soft drinks, or eat salad as part of the meal. Discuss these in advance with your children and stick to them. Some restaurants allow you to specify options so you can say no to mayonnaise and cheese, for example. In pizza restaurants, you can ask for half cheese and more vegetables, such as mushrooms, peppers and onions.

De-emphasize fast food

Don't make fast food a big deal. Don’t use fast food as a way to save time or skip meal preparation. Don't use fast food as a reward, either.

Does that meal compute?

Take a virtual visit to a fast-food restaurant and help your child make wholesome choices. Log onto the  McDonald's Web site, for example, and you'll see that a hamburger, small order of fries and reduced-fat vanilla ice cream comes to 650 calories, just a few more than the 620 to 630 calories in a McFlurry.

Most fast-food restaurant chains have Web sites with nutrition information. Here are other popular sites:

      Burger King

      Wendy's 

      KFC 

      Taco Bell

Encourage exercise

The dietary guidelines recommend that children and adolescents get 60 minutes of physical activity each day.