I’m thrilled about the attention Michelle Obama is bringing to nutrition and fitness for children. From what I read, it sounds like she will be tackling big environmental factors like more healthful food in schools, more accurate food labeling, better grocery stores in communities that don’t have them, public service announcements and efforts to get children to be more active. Her campaign is called Let’s Move (www.letsmove.org) and will focus on healthy eating and exercise.

It has been said this is the first generation of children who won’t live as long as their parents; with this level of national focus we can change that.

Just how we do this is really important; it needs to be done in a sensitive way. Focusing on weight and diets could lead to eating disorders or a lifetime of challenge with food.

Instead, focus on developing healthy habits for the whole family. This will teach children a way of living that will benefit them their whole life. Don’t single out one child: healthy eating and exercise is good for everyone. Truthfully, this campaign may be just what all of us need.

We’re a culture that emphasizes physical appearance, which can lead to unrealistic expectations about what we “should” weigh, eating extremes (alternatively restricting and binging), and feeling like a failure. Resist the temptation to think in terms of “diets” - something you go “on” until you fall “off”. Make this a way of life.

Focus on the healthy habits, not the weight. Compliment and acknowledge your children for the healthy things they do - like joining a soccer team, riding their bikes, or choosing a healthy snack. Recognize them instead of focusing on their appearance.

Pay attention to the language you use; criticizing your own body or your child’s can contribute to disordered eating and poor self esteem. Be conscious of what they might overhear in your conversations with others. When little girls hear about mom’s diet, they may think they need to diet too. Dieting has big potential for harmful long-term effects, especially for young people.

Tune into the mixed messages from advertising. Kids (and adults) are bombarded with images of extreme thinness as the standard for beauty. Then we are equally assaulted with tempting images of foods that promise to make us better people.

Advertisements are meant to sell products: they are designed to make us think the thin body or the Snickers bar is what we need to be happy. Teach your children to see through the empty promises.

Look for ways to keep building healthy habits in your own family. Keep up the good things you are already doing, and try something new. Doing physical activities together is fun and builds memories. Our grandchildren are so used to taking walks with us, they arrive asking when we are going. Serve regular, balanced meals with a variety of nutrient-rich foods. Eat meals together as frequently as possible, and make them calm and pleasant times for family conversation.

Allow children to use their internal signals to decide how much to eat. Child nutrition expert and author Ellyn Satter offers a useful division of family responsibilities: parents decide what and when food is served; children decide how much to eat and whether or not to eat. As the parent, it is your responsibility to choose which foods come into the home - make these predominately healthy. This doesn’t mean that any food has to be restricted - junk foods and sweets might be a “sometimes” food, foods eaten in moderation.

Family health is a big topic. There are lots of good resources out there and I’m sure more will be coming. If the prospect of improving your family’s health feels overwhelming, it may be helpful to heed my favorite quote from Michelle Obama: “The beauty is that we don’t need to be 100 percent of the way there. If we get 20 percent of the way there, we will change the health status of our kids for a generation.”

We don’t need to be perfect. We just need to do keep on doing what we can.

Just out

The Healthy Habits Approach to Mindful Eating - a CD with exercises and visualizations to make eating conscious and enjoyable. Find out more healthyhabitscoach.com.

Kathy Nichols is a registered dietitian and life coach. Contact Kathy at kathy@healthyhabitscoach.com.