President Clinton and Others Discuss Keeping Families Fit and Healthy

This past Saturday, urban families poured into New York's Harlem Children's Zone for the first annual Weight Watchers Fun and Fit in the City, an event geared toward raising awareness of the growing childhood obesity epidemic, as well as showcasing simple at-home solutions for healthful eating (the center was packed with booths, from Whole Foods to the Food Bank for New York City).

Emphasize consistency: "I have five kids, and one of them -- my 5-year-old -- is a picky eater," said two-time NBA all-star (and Olympic gold medalist) Allan Houston. "We don't change things up the second somebody says they don't like a food." Repeatedly serving a type of vegetable or fruit in different forms had actually proven a better healthy eating tool because, he explained, tasting something over and over gets you used to it, and trying it in different ways puts the odds in favor of hitting one that passes the taste test.

Make the experience hands-on: "Whenever possible, bring your kids into the kitchen and let them help you cook," said Rachael Ray. "It's a question of self-esteem: They'll be so proud of what they made, they'll be excited to eat the dish." Similarly, she advocated taking them shopping with you. In the store, tell them fun science-y facts about the produce you're buying, and let them have an active roll in choosing which fruits and vegetables you buy. (Asking something like, "what color vegetables do we want to eat tonight," for example, makes the whole prospect a lot more appealing than having them pick some by name.) Last, always get creative with what you call a dish. "You want to have the food you make sound as appealing as it is healthful," she explained.

Understand what fuels picky eating and pay attention to meals: "Children (and pregnant women!) are biologically programmed to be picky eaters -- this happens because they're at a point in life when their bodies are especially vulnerable to sickness, so it's doubly important they filter out food that might be poisonous or spoiled," said doctor and TV host Mehmet Oz. "Kids even have considerably more taste buds than we do, and you can use that to your advantage by encouraging them to explore and think about the flavors they experience." On a separate note, he said that research shows that people who eat in front of the TV tend to consume 100 calories more than they otherwise would. One hundred calories a day, he observed, is actually enough to have an impact on weight.

Be supportive: "A recent Purdue study found that kids who exercise don't necessarily have parents who exercise," said Tara Parker-Pope. It turns out that what they do have is parents who support their exercise -- driving them to games and practice, for example.

Staying healthy at home is a critical part of the anti-obesity puzzle, but it's not the only one, and lobbyists are working on changing school lunches.