Healthy snack foods for your child to try:

oFresh fruit

oFruit canned in juice or light syrup oSmall amounts of dried fruits such as raisins, apple rings, or apricots

oFresh vegetables such as baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini, or tomatoes

oReduced fat cheese or a small amount of peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers

oLow-fat yogurt with fruit

Foods that are small, round, sticky, or hard to chew, such as raisins, whole grapes, hard vegetables, hard chunks of cheese, nuts, seeds, and popcorn can cause choking in children under age 4. You can still prepare some of these foods for young children, for example, by cutting grapes into small pieces and cooking and cutting up vegetables. Always watch your toddler during meals and snacks.

Encourage daily physical activity

Like adults, kids need daily physical activity. Here are some ways to help your child move every day:

·Set a good example. If your children see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives.

·Encourage your child to join a sports team or class, such as soccer, dance, basketball, or gymnastics at school or at your local community or recreation center.

·Be sensitive to your child's needs. If your child feels uncomfortable participating in activities like sports, help him or her find physical activities that are fun and not embarrassing. ·Be active together as a family. Assign active chores such as making beds, washing car, or vacuuming. Plan active outings such as a trip to zoo or a walk through a local park.

·Because his or her body is not ready yet, do not encourage your pre-adolescent child to participate in adult-style physical activity such as long jogs, using an exercise bike or treadmill, or lifting heavy weights. FUN physical activities are best for kids.

·Kids need a total of about 60 minutes of physical activity a day, but this does not have to be all at one time. Short 10- or even 5-minute bouts of activity throughout day are just as good. If your children are not used to being active, encourage them to start with what they can do and build up to 60 minutes a day.

Type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, is most common form of diabetes. People can develop type 2 diabetes at any age—even during childhood. This form of diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin properly.

At first, pancreas keeps up with added demand by producing more insulin. In time, however, it loses ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals. Being overweight and inactive increases chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Treatment includes using diabetes medicines, making wise food choices, being physically active, taking aspirin daily, and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Why do you need to take care of your diabetes? After many years, diabetes can lead to serious problems in your eyes, kidneys, nerves, and gums and teeth. But most serious problem caused by diabetes is heart disease. When you have diabetes, you are more than twice as likely as people without diabetes to have heart disease or a stroke.

If you have diabetes, your risk of a heart attack is same as someone who has already had a heart attack. Both women and men with diabetes are at risk. You may not even have typical signs of a heart attack.

You can reduce your risk of developing heart disease by controlling your blood pressure and blood fat levels. If you smoke, talk with your doctor about quitting. Remember that every step toward your goals helps!

Later in this article, we'll tell you how you can try to prevent or delay long-term problems. The best way to take care of your health is to work with your health care team to keep your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol in your target range.

How is weight loss important?

If you have diabetes and are overweight, even a moderate reduction in weight can have a positive benefit to your health and possibly blood pressure and cholesterol. If you are overweight or obese and don’t have diabetes, you have added risk of developing disease.

How can I tell if I am overweight?

There are several methods to determine a healthy body weight. The simplest is to measure around your waist. Men who are greater than 94 cm (37 inches) and women who are greater than 80cm (32 inches) are overweight. Another method is Body Mass Index which takes into account your height, weight and gender. If your BMI is greater than 25 you are considered overweight. If it is greater than 30, you are considered obese.

Kim Beardsmore is a weight loss consultant whose business operates across 60 countries. This world renowned, medically approved program will give you results you'll love and all the support you need! Estimate your healthy body weight, tons of recipes, articles, free newsletter and more at http://weight-loss-health.com.au