A recent study has revealed a link between obese girls and lower academic grades compared to those girls of a healthier weight.

The study was conducted on 6000 girls and focused on girls aged 11, 13 and 16.  The average grade for girls of this age is C but for girls in the obese category the average fell to D. Researchers published their findings in the International Journal of Obesity.

Obesity is an increasing problem in the UK and a concern for more and more parents.

Dieting and exercising are the most obvious ways to control weight gain and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  As a parent of a teenager it can be difficult to take control of what your daughter is doing and eating, particularly whilst they are away at school for most of the day.

But here are a 5 things we think you could try to help you child loose weight:

1)      Keep unhealthy snacks out of sight or out of the house entirely

Keep fruit and vegetables out on the kitchen surface, rather than cakes and chocolates.

Offer your child fruit and nuts as a snack. Cut up the fruit or peel it to make it more appealing and easier to pick at.

Rather than sending your child to school with pocket money for break time snacks – send them with some fruit and nuts. Bananas, apples and pears easily fit into a school bag and can be eaten whole.

2)     Try and avoid fizzy and other sugary drinks at home

Water is the least calorific drink available. Stick to water at meal times as when you are eating you often don’t realise how much of a drink you are consuming.

Consider smoothies and fresh juices, when you have the chance. This is a good way to increase vitamin intake and can make the idea of drinking healthy drinks more appealing – especially if you involve your children in the process of picking the fruits or vegetables to juice and allow them to juice it themselves.

3)     Serve your child a set amount of food – rather than allowing them to help themselves from a communal dish

Your child may be eating healthy dinners, but eating large portions can increase the amount they eat.  It has been shown that allowing people to take their foods can lead to over eating, compared to when people are served a set portion.

4)     Avoid eating with other distractions around to prevent over eating

Eating foods whilst watching TV, texting on a phone or playing a game on an iPad can distract from how much food children are consuming and lead to eating more. Try and stop your child eating whilst they are doing other things.

5)     Encourage your child to get involved in school sporting activities

Exercise is essential for maintaining weight loss.  At first many overweight children are reluctant to get involved in sports. But a sports team is a brilliant environment to encourage children to exercise more and enjoy exercising too.

Sports can also give children better self-confidence, which may be holding them back in the classroom too.