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Side Orders: Add a layer of fun to kids’ snacks

Kathy Burnett prepares a snack for her daughters Claudia, center, and Sabina right, after their gymnastics class Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Chicago. Burnett says she tries to feed her girls healthy, natural foods rather than commercial packaged products. A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many packaged foods and snacks marketed for toddlers contain too much salt and sugar and could potentially contribute to childhood obesity and high blood pressure. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Kathy Burnett prepares a snack for her daughters Claudia, center, and Sabina right, after their gymnastics class Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Chicago. Burnett says she tries to feed her girls healthy, natural foods rather than commercial packaged products. A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many packaged foods and snacks marketed for toddlers contain too much salt and sugar and could potentially contribute to childhood obesity and high blood pressure. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) Kathy Burnett prepares a snack for her daughters Claudia, center, and Sabina right, after their gymnastics class Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Chicago. Burnett says she tries to feed her girls healthy, natural foods rather than commercial packaged products. A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many packaged foods and snacks marketed for toddlers contain too much salt and sugar and could potentially contribute to childhood obesity and high blood pressure. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

By Anne Braly 4 min read

Back to school means back to packing lunch and having afternoon snacks on hand. But it’s also a time to look at the problem of childhood obesity. Yes, it is getting better – overall rates have declined by 6.3 percent in recent years, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. But Tennessee continues to be ranked among the highest in the country for overweight kids.

“Current statistics show that 1 in 3 children are either overweight or obese in the state of Tennessee,” says registered dietitian Allison Knott, founder of Anewtrition, a nutrition and wellness private practice based in Chattanooga.

So what can you as a parent do?

“The causes for childhood obesity are multifactorial,” Knott says.

photo Anne Braly

Physical activity and nutrition play an important role in the solutions, but the approach can take many forms and are influenced by a variety of factors.