Barack and Michelle Obama have been a bit busy lately, what with 10 inaugural balls and his being sworn in as President of the United States and everything. (And I think I'm busy ... ha!) The Obama's girls have been busy in their own right.

Recently, they had friends from their new school visit them at the White House. After watching movies, the girls participated in a scavenger hunt through the presidential halls (how cool is that?). The hunt was designed to help the girls become familiar with the White House and to feel more comfortable there. The final surprise of the hunt led them to the Jonas Brothers hiding behind a door. I think I could hear the pre-teen squeals from four states away. But what I'm really wondering is if the Jonas Brothers got a chance to bowl?

While your kids don't have anything as palatial as the White House to get used to and you can't rustle up a pop star as a final surprise, you can still set up a scavenger hunt in your own house for your kids. If, like me, you live in an area that's been suffering super-cold temps, you have to get a little creative to keep your kids active indoors. A scavenger hunt is a fun idea -- your kids might also enjoy a relay race throughout the house.

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Loving parents want the best for their children -- health, happiness, contentment and success. So this story of a family in the UK whose daughter is battling an eating disorder broke my heart. What makes the situation worse is that the teenager blames her problems on her father, who is obese.

So often, as parents, we worry about the external forces that influence our kids. From TV shows, to dolls, to ads in magazines ... everything is a potential force that can sway our kids away from the values we'd like them to have. But the influences within our homes are even stronger. The examples we set -- with our health, our actions, our morals -- are more powerful than any external source.

The dad whose daughter has an eating disorder and blames it on him was obviously heartbroken. He loves his daughter and he wants her healthy and well. I hope, while recognizing that his habits did influence her, he realizes that her eating disorder isn't his fault. I so respect the way he's handling it, though. As his daughter is receiving treatment for her eating disorder, he's also seeking help for his obesity. While they're on opposite sides of the issue, I wish them both the best of luck on resolving their issues with food and getting to a healthy weight.

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It only stands to reason that the more fit your child is, the more adept they will be at their sport of choice. But fitness affects more than your child's skill on the field ... fitness can affect academic performance as well. It might even promote brain cell growth.

In today's day and age where phys ed classes are practically a thing of the past and video games bogart our kids' attention spans, it's important to encourage physical activity. Signing your kids up for team sports is a great way to promote activity while helping them build confidence and social skills. But day to day activity is just as important, so get outside with your kids and get them moving.

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My son likes many healthful snacks. Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, almost any variety of fruit, cheese sticks and sunflower seeds are his favorites. But if given the choice between any of his favorite healthful snacks and his least favorite type of junk food, he'll pick the junk food every time.

I adopted my son when he was 10 years old, so many of his eating habits were already formed. With time and determination, he's learned to enjoy home-cooked meals (he only liked frozen foods when he first moved in) and understands a lot more about nutrition. But the junk food addiction has remained a problem.

I've tried instituting other rules, such as having healthful "anytime foods" that he can snack on whenever he likes and in any quantity he desires. The treat foods were left for desserts and small treats each day. It's a good idea in theory, but it led to my son trying to sneak those foods up to his room. When they became hands-off foods, they were more desirable than ever.

Kids learn a lot in school. My fifth grader is learning algebra and geometry, which is fine now but I'm a little leery of the math lessons he'll have in high school -- at some point he's going to surpass my knowledge completely. So with all that reading, writing and arithmetic, why not learn good nutrition habits as well?

Many schools are starting to restrict sugary and fatty snacks. And students' nutrition habits are modestly improving as a result. Over 10,000 fifth graders at schools with restricted snacks were surveyed and they reported a three percent increase in fruit and vegetable consumption.

As a parent, I strongly believe my child's nutrition habits are learned at home. But when good nutrition habits are modeled and supported at school as well, it's a win-win situation. Now if I could only convince my son's school to stop serving those molded chunks of who-knows-what they try to pass off as chicken nuggets.

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BBC Health has a video showing a mother discussing how her children got overweight, the problems they encountered, and what they're doing to lose the extra weight. The mother mentioned that she realized her son was getting overweight when she couldn't find pants that fit him properly. She had to buy pants in America because "they cater more to the overweight child." Her choice of words really struck a chord with me.

It's definitely a chicken and egg situation. Larger clothing sizes are necessary because there are larger kids who need them. But is childhood obesity, in part, prolonged by the fact that items like husky or plus-sized clothing is readily available? The mom in the BBC Health interview stated that the lack of clothing was a main impetus for changing the family's unhealthy habits and helping the kids lose weight.

I think it would be discriminatory to not have larger clothing sizes available. But, on the other hand, childhood obesity is an ever increasing problem and we don't want to become a society that caters to the issue. What do you think?

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One of my nephews sneered at broccoli until my sister started calling it a "tree" -- all of a sudden, broccoli was interesting.

Sometimes, parents have to resort to little tricks to get their picky eaters to try new foods. The food pyramid folks realize this and now, there's a special pyramid designed just for preschoolers. Not only does this new pyramid outline the proper amounts of foods kids need, it also aims to help parents with the little picky eaters in the house.

In addition to helpful tools like a growth chart, sample meal plans and kitchen activities for preschoolers, the MyPyramid for Preschoolers site gives tips for breaking the picky-eating problem. Some suggestions:

• Set a good example by eating healthfully
• Offer a variety of foods ... and keep offering them
• Start with small portions.
  

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Kids have many health habits that leave a little to be desired. As health habits spiral downward, childhood obesity and related illnesses are on the rise. It's the role of a parent to help change kids' bad habits and replace them with health-promoting foods and activities.

AOL Health counts down some of the worst health habits that kids have today:

• Eating too much white or refined flour. White flour is void of nutritional value, so while it might make that soft and squishy bread kids love, whole wheat is always a better choice.
• Drinking soda. Not only does soda add ridiculous amounts of unnecessary calories, it's also damaging to dental health. To help break the soda habit, don't keep it in your house. Water meets your child's hydration needs better than anything else. Milk and 100 percent fruit juice are also good choices in moderation.
  
• Not exercising. Kids should be active for at least 60 minutes each day. Many schools are cutting back on physical education and even on recess -- so it's important that parents create time for active play. One of the best ways to be sure your kids are being active is to get out there and play with them.
  

Check out the slideshow on AOL Health for more unhealthy kid habits.

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A recent study theorized that banning fast food commercials would have a positive impact on childhood obesity. After all, most kids watch an awful lot of television -- being tempted by burgers and fries (not to mention the toys they're packaged with) can be a big draw. Pair that with the potential sleep problems and loss of physical activity due to TV watching and you've got a recipe for childhood obesity. Or do you?

I asked That's Fit readers what they thought about banning fast food commercials. Here are the results:

• 56.6 percent think banning fast food commercials is a good idea. Remove the temptation and maybe kids would beg and plead for fast food less often.
• 34.5 percent of you think kids will still want fast food, whether they see it on commercials or not.
  
• 8.7 percent of you voted for other. Many comments focused on the fact that it shouldn't matter whether kids see commercials or not -- parents should determine the types of food that their family is eating. Kids shouldn't be the ones who dictate what they eat.

Do you think you're up on knowledge about childhood obesity? Take this AOL Health childhood obesity quiz and find out.

Most fast food meals make me feel a little ill -- yet often, when I catch a fast food commercial running on TV, the food looks so good I salivate like Pavlov's dog. That's exactly what those commercials are designed to do -- make you crave a trip to your nearest fast food joint for whatever triple-decker, bacon-packed, artery-clogging burger they're advertising this week.

A recent study reviewed data on nearly 13,000 children to determine how many advertising commercials most children view on TV each week. Researchers believe the commercials have a big impact on the amount of children who eat fast food. They estimate that banning fast food commercials from TV would reduce obesity in children ages 3-11 by 18 percent and by 14 percent in adolescents ages 12-18.

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It's no surprise that candy isn't good for dental health. But as popularity of sour candies rises, so does the rate of tooth decay.

Most of these sour candies have extremely low pH levels -- as a comparison, battery acid has a pH level of 1 as do many of these candies. Some of the candies are so acidic they can cause permanent damage to tooth enamel -- particularly in young children whose protective enamel is immature. Gummy and sticky candies seem to cause the most damage because of the length of time kids suck on them before chewing and swallowing.

While it's best to avoid these treats altogether, if you're going to let your children indulge, make sure they don't suck or chew on them for a long time and have them rinse their mouths with water afterwards. A glass of milk can also help neutralize the acid from the candy. Don't have your ckids brush their teeth immediately after eating sour candy -- brushing the surface after an acid attack can actually increase the damage the acid causes.

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My son often begs for fruit snacks at the grocery store. Despite the hundreds of times I've told him otherwise, he still maintains that "they're fruit, so they're healthy!" Um ... no.

It turns out that my son isn't the only one confused by what actually counts as a serving of fruits or vegetables.
A recent British survey revealed lots of parents are confused as well. Some of the surprising results:

• One in 10 believed Jaffa Cakes (a cookie-like treat made with sponge cake, orange jelly, and chocolate) counted as a fruit.
• One in five believed orange squash (a sweetened, orange-flavored drink) counted as a fruit.
• One in five believed Spaghetti Hoops (like Spaghetti-O's) counted as a vegetable.
• One in 20 thought oranges and bananas didn't count as fruits.
• 15 percent of British parents don't believe it's their job to teach their kids about nutrition.

Wow. And though it's sad to say, I think a survey in North America would have similar results. Check out the gallery for some potentially confusing items.

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This may be a surprise, but kids prefer cartoon characters to look like healthy kids. You wouldn't know it by looking at many of the cartoons that are out now -- many shows feature boys as muscular heroes and girls with unnaturally proportioned body parts.

Recent research shows that what many cartoons deliver isn't what kids actually prefer. More than 1,000 kids between the ages of three and 12 were given a choice between three versions of a female cartoon character -- one with an unnaturally thin waist, one with normal proportions, and one with a chubby waist. Happily, 70% of girls and boys chose the character with the normal proportions. The kids also prefer cartoon characters depicting children instead of adults.

I think it's awesome that kids gravitate toward the healthier, more realistic image. It just goes to show that kids can have a healthy body image. If you're a parent, picking the right shows for your kids to watch is just one way to protect their body image. Kaboose has more ideas.

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Childhood obesity is becoming a big problem in the United States as well as many other countries. There are many factors that contribute to the problem, including poor nutrition at home, lack of nutrition education, unhealthy school lunches, and marketing/advertising of unhealthy foods to kids. But as the attention on childhood obesity increases, are we going too far and generating a fear of fat in kids?

A recent survey of 150,000 kids found that 1/4 of 10-year-old boys and 1/3 of girls that age are worried about their body image and shape. I found those numbers disconcerting. Yes, children should be at a healthy weight. Being overweight can have long-term effects on a child's health and self-esteem. But, in trying to help kids achieve/maintain a healthy weight, we shouldn't sacrifice a positive body image and shouldn't damage a healthy relationship with food.

Instead of forcing young kids to think about calorie intake and burning calories, we should just model and support healthy eating habits and make physical activity and play a part of every day. If your child is overweight, try these nine positive ways to help them get healthy.

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Skyrocketing childhood obesity rates have an unwanted side effect -- more kids are being put on prescription medications to combat related chronic diseases.

A recent study revealed there have been surges in prescriptions for children with diabetes and asthma as well as smaller increases in high blood pressure and high cholesterol medications. To varying degrees, obesity can play a role in all of those conditions. While some of the medication increase can be attributed to modified guidelines, the rise is concerning.

If your child is overweight, there are many positive, supportive ways you can help. AOL Health has other suggestions for battling childhood obesity.

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