Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/02/2021 --Childhood obesity is a growing health issue in the United States – with nearly 14 million children and adolescents having obesity. Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital is reminding families that they can take steps to prevent or address childhood obesity.

"Creating a regular meal schedule – complete with snacks – can help children satiate their hunger, develop healthy habits and give them the fuel they need throughout the day," said Madeline Gochnour, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital.

Gochnour offers these tips to promote a healthy diet for kids:

Create a regular meal and snack schedule. This prevents excessive grazing and snacking, and promotes hunger and fullness cues needed to maintain wellness.

Focus on nutritious foods for snack time. Options may include vegetables, fruit, whole grains, protein-rich foods and low-fat dairy foods. Try serving apple slices with nut butter, whole grain crackers with cheese slices, or carrots dipped in hummus. Also, remember or limit processed snacks such chips, cookies, or crackers.

Limit sugar-sweetened beverages. Serve water or low-fat plain milk instead of soda, chocolate milk, of juice.

Get moving! Play outside with your kids – try a family walk or game of duck duck goose – and most importantly, unplug! Leave your devices inside or turn them off during activity.

About Intermountain Healthcare
Primary Children's Hospital is part of Intermountain Healthcare, a not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals, 215 clinics, a Medical Group with 2,500 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. For more than 95 years, Primary's have served over 1 million children living in a 400,000 square-mile service area including Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Alaska. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs.