Planning menus is a thinning solution.

• Position: Childhood Obesity

Research identifies several causes for the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, including lack of physical activity, large portion sizes, and increased intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks. A commonsense approach to the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity must focus on the home and school environments. These steps include setting aside time for healthy meals and physical activity, eliminating unhealthy foods--such as soft drinks and candy--from schools' vending machines, and possible taxes on fast food and soft drinks, to name a few. Moreover, soft drinks might be a possible culprit because of their ability to raise blood sugar.

Molly Pelzer, a registered dietitian for the National Dairy Council, provides some no-nonsense tips that can help children get adequate nutrition with foods they love:

* Yogurt parfaits. Make breakfast fun, quick, and easy for the kids. Let them add fresh fruit (such as blueberries, strawberries, or cut melon slices) to any flavored yogurt. Offer extra ingredients for texture such as raisins, granola, or their favorite cereal.

* Plan your menu. If your offspring dine in the school cafeteria, ask them to bring home its lunch menu so that you can decide together what foods to choose. You can't monitor them to make sure they eat all the vegetables...