COLUMBUS, OHIO - Experts say one out of every eight kids under the age of five is overweight or obese in this country.
For the first time, a study in the journal Pediatrics outlines three household routines that can dramatically reduce the risk of obesity in your kids.
The first routine is sitting down to dinner every night as a family.
Eating at the dinner table each night cut the risk of obesity on preschoolers.
Next, limit the amount of time they watch television to 2 hours a day.
Also, make sure kids get enough sleep.
10 1/2 hours a night in this study, found the risk goes down even more.
Sarah Anderson, Ph.D. of Ohio State University College of Public Health says, "We found that children who had these three household routines were at 40% lower risk of obesity compared to children who had none of these routines."
They're all likely to help children to develop in several important areas.
Just doing one of these routines can cut the risk of obesity in kids, but the more you can do, the better.
