what is a healthy body weight?
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Encouraging children to feel positive about their bodies also encourages them to be healthy and confident. Helping a child who is over their most healthy weight to have a positive body image does not mean encouraging them to be unhealthy, or to continue to gain weight. In fact, positive body image is more likely to lead to healthy lifestyle behaviours, such as eating a healthy diet, engaging in regular physical activity, and taking care of health.

What a healthy weight is for one person might be very different for another. You cannot judge a person’s state of health from their body shape or size. For example, some skinny people have very poor diets and can experience heart problems, while some large people can engage in regular physical activity and be healthy and fit. 

So, when encouraging children to be healthy, it is really important for parents to focus on healthy behaviours, such as balanced eating, few sweetened drinks, regular physical activity, and minimal screen time (e.g., TV, computer or electronic games), rather than on weight and dieting.

how do i encourage a healthy body weight for my child?
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To be healthy, all children need healthy eating patterns and regular physical activity. It is also important for all parents to minimise their child’s screen time, because screen time is associated with a range of unhealthy outcomes in children.
Although adults often try to lose weight and be healthy by going on a diet, dieting is never healthy
for children.

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See fact sheet 1: how to promote a healthy body, rather than an 'ideal' body

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click on the tabs under 'healthy body weight' in the menu on the left to find strategies to help encourage a healthy body weight for your child

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