"I didn't feel good and I was tired and it was easier," the South Jordan mother said.

The result was that as mom's weight climbed, so did her daughter's.

A trip to the pediatrician showed that the girl, who is not named to protect her privacy, had high blood pressure and gained 10 pounds, a troubling amount considering she was only 6 at the time. The cycle repeated itself two years later when Becky became pregnant again.

Becky's family already knows what many studies have proven:

Parents have a powerful effect on their children's eating and exercise habits. We can give our kids a good shot at a long, healthy life. Or we can set them up for a host of health problems, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, not to mention the scorn of their classmates and the strain on their self-esteem.

Salt Lake City pediatrician Mark Templeman said he is seeing more patients like Becky's daughter - some as young as 2 or 3 - who are struggling with risky scores on the Body Mass Index (BMI), a formula that uses height and weight to determine if someone is overweight.

Some Utah teens are even undergoing surgery to lose weight.

According to the American Heart Association, the percentage of children between 6 and 11 who are overweight leaped from 4.2 percent in 1963-65 to 15.3 percent in 1999-2000. For kids 12 to 19, the number is up from 4.6 percent to 15.5 percent.

"This is concerning. This could impact them for the rest of their lives," Templeman said.

He tells parents that they need to make changes in their own lives, not just the kids' routines, and that can be tough advice to swallow.

"It's an emotional issue for families because often the parents are obese. We're fighting a family lifestyle," he said.

Of course, Templeman counsels them about healthy diets and regular exercise, but he also has some tips that parents might not have heard before.

* Don't forbid foods such as cake or potato chips, he said. Instead eat them rarely and in reasonable portions.

* Don't tell your kids to clean their plates; it just messes up the internal mechanism that tells them when they're full. If dessert is on the menu, everyone gets it, not just the kids who finish all their dinner.

* Make eating as much a part of the family routine as bedtime and homework. Kids should eat three meals a day, and snacks should be limited to fresh fruits or vegetables. Eating dinner together - and breakfast, too, if possible - is critical.

* Parents also need to give up the notion of solo exercise, or at least make time for fun family exercise each day on top of their own workout.

Templeman knows first-hand how hard that can be. He and his wife Mary had to rethink their routines after their two sets of twins were born. Today the kids, ages 11 and 8, swim almost daily on a team, and all six of the Templemans do something active after dinner, like in-line skating, walking or biking.

"If they see the parents out there swimming, the kids will be out there swimming" he said.

Even the pediatrician has to watch his diet. He and his wife Mary tried "The South Beach Diet" awhile ago, and Mark dropped more than 40 pounds. It worked, he said, because the whole family ate healthy and stayed active.

"The family who hikes together, stays together," he said. "The family who watches TV together, watches more TV together."

While South Beach worked for the Templemans, there are many other resources as well.

Primary Chidren's Medical Center offers a six-week class that teaches kids and families easy ways to eat well and be active. Similar classes are offered at Utah Valley Medical Center in Provo and McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.

Each two-hour session includes practical lessons, such as reasonable food portions and "traffic light eating" (see comparison on Page C1), and also features an hour of a fun activity the whole family can do together. Groups have gone swimming, done an indoor hike through the medical facilities at the University of Utah and kicked up their heels for line dancing.

Nutritionist Shelley Brown said parents are always surprised by how much they learn in the class. For example, many people know that soda is a dietary disaster, but they think juice and 2 percent milk are healthy choices. In fact, Templeman said people should avoid juice altogether and eat a piece of fruit instead. Juice has too many calories and not enough nutrients and fiber. Brown said kids should drink skim milk after age 1, and treat sports drinks and chocolate milk as "red light" foods.

Brown's class also teaches families how to read nutrition labels, stresses the need to turn off the TV, and teaches kids how to deconstruct the commercials they see.

"The most important thing is getting the whole family on board," said Brown. The message shouldn't be that Johnny needs to lose 10 pounds, she said, but rather that "there are things we can do as a family to feel healthier."

Becky knows the answers. Today, mother and daughter are trying to reach a weight that is healthy for each of them, and Becky has lost 75 pounds. They walk together in the mornings and ride bikes. Becky's daughter is allowed to watch TV if she walks on the treadmill at the same time. Mom makes meals from healthy whole foods, and fast food has been banned.

Still, progress is tough. The 9-year-old girl is still struggling to maintain her weight as she grows taller. She has become self-conscious about her size.

"This year is the first year that kids have made fun of her. She's just barely learning to deal with that," Becky said.

---

Contact Jennifer Barrett at jbarrett@sltrib.com or 801-257-8611. Send comments about this story to livingeditor @sltrib.com.

Is your parenting style making Junior fat?

A study released this summer found that setting a good example may not be enough. Mom and Dad must examine their parenting style, too.

Researchers identified four types of parents:

* Authoritative parents set limits for their kids but also show lots of warmth and sensitivity. They are least likely to have overweight kids. These kids also perform better in school, have better self-control, are less depressed and take fewer risks as teens, according to the researchers.

* Authoritarian parents try to control all aspects of their kids' lives but don't offer much emotional support. Their children are nearly five times more likely than those of authoritative parents to become overweight. Researchers suggest that's because kids are told they must clean their plates and ignore their body's own cues that tell them when they are full.

* Permissive parents indulge their children's behavior but are very sensitive to their thoughts and feelings. Their kids are nearly three times more likely to be overweight.

* Neglectful parents don't set many limits or offer much support. Their kids have nearly three times the risk of being overweight.

Source: Pediatrics journal, June 2006

Food and fitness

The next six-week Family Food Fitness Class offered at Primary Children's Medical Center will begin Sept. 5. The cost is $150 per family. For more information or to register, call Margaret Braae at 801-588-2659.

Among American children ages 6 to11, the following are overweight:

For whites, 11.9 percent of boys and 12 percent of girls.

For blacks of African Americans, 17.6 percent of boys and 22.1 percent of girls.

For Mexican Americans, 27.3 percent of boys and 19.6 percent of girls.

Among American children ages 12 to19, the following are overweight:

For whites only, 13 percent of boys and 12.2 percent of girls.

For blacks or African Americans, 20.5 percent of black boys and 25.7 percent of black girls.

27.5 percent of Mexican American boys are overweight, as are 19.4 percent of girls.

- Source: American Heart Association

What's to come:

Tuesday: Health & P.E.

A look at health and P.E. in schools and the effects of the Gold Medal nutrition and exercise program.

Wednesday: Student nutrition

What kids really think about school lunch cafeterias and nutritious recipes for home or school.