Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity as a Family

The Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative works to promote healthy eating and physical activity for parents and caregivers, children, and adolescents in California and coordinates with local public health and health care programs to help people stay healthy and active.

Parents and caregivers strive to help children and teenagers grow into healthy adults. Establishing healthy habits early sets an example and promotes healthy lifestyles into and throughout adulthood.

Click on the links below to learn some healthy habits for you and your family.

Healthy Eating as a Family

Physical Activity as a Family

Benefits of Healthy Habits

Being active and eating healthy as a family ca benefit everyone by:

Maintaining a healthy weight and promoting growth.
Keeping bones and muscles strong.
Reducing the chance of developing a chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, or obesity.
Improving brain development and academic performance (knowledge, problem solving, language, and memory).
Balancing mood.

How to Establish Healthy Habits

Committing to healthy habits might feel like a big challenge, especially for busy families. Make it easier to build healthy habits by setting family goals together. Here are some goals to consider:

Get enough sleep every night.

Adults should get 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Children need different amounts of sleep depending on their age. Learn more about healthy sleeping habits here.

Set a weekly time for physical activity together.

Children aged 6-17 should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Adults should get at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.

Choose healthy food options at every meal.

Include at least one fruit and vegetable at each meal.
For more help and other examples check out the California MyPlate for Children 2-12 (PDF) . Also available in Spanish (PDF).

Making healthy choices can be fun and exciting, especially if you get your kids involved. Ready to make healthy food and lifestyle choices? Follow these tips:

Explain why the healthy choice is important and answer any questions your kids might have.
Pick one or two small changes at a time. Even small steps can make a big a difference!
Buddy up and encourage each other.
Write down your new habit.

Post it in an area everyone will see every day, for example on the bathroom mirror or on the refrigerator door.

Keep track of your progress. Check in each week to see if you were able to meet your new habit goal.

If you were successful, great! Reward yourselves with some fun activities like a family game night.
If you didn't quite make your goal, be kind to yourself and try again next week. Think about what you can do to make it easier to accomplish your goal next time.

Check out some fun examples of how to stay healthy with your kids:

Play hide-and-seek with your kids.
Get the whole family involved with making dinner.
Have a push-up contest while you watch T.V.
Take your kids grocery shopping and have a scavenger hunt with the items on your grocery list.
Take the whole family out for a walk to a local park, or even just around the block.
Liven up your snack time by putting out colorful, healthy options and having everyone create some tasty plate art.