Rapid growth and development occurs during the preschool years, ages 2 through 5. A child grows about 2 to 3 inches and gains 4 to 5 pounds each year. Proper nutrition and opportunities to play and be physically active are critical to ensuring your child grows properly, learns to enjoy nutritious foods, and adopts healthy behaviors for maximum development and lifelong health. This publication covers various topics of interest to parents and caregivers of young children and gives an overview of optimal feeding practices.

There is no one healthy weight for all children. Children come in different sizes and shapes. Some children are naturally petite. Others have bigger builds, larger bones, or greater muscle mass that can result in a heavier weight. They also grow at different rates. Any weight that supports growth, learning, development, fitness, and well-being can be a healthy weight.

If your child is overweight, he or she is not alone. Overweight and obesity are growing at epidemic rates among American children and teens. The rate has tripled in 30 years and is expected to rise. In 2012, 18 percent of children ages 6 to 11 and 20 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 19 were considered obese.

The promotion of different “diets” or diet programs has become rampant in our modern society, with many making erroneous claims about weight loss and healthy lifestyles. It can seem that each time you hop on the computer or catch the news a groundbreaking way to shed pounds and get the perfect body is being touted.

Sports drinks were developed to help replenish fluid, electrolytes, and carbohydrates lost during long, hard exercise, sometimes performed in extreme temperatures. For example, participating in endurance cycling, marathon training, competitive soccer and tennis matches, and football during the summer months. While sports drinks provide benefits under such circumstances, youth are consuming sports drinks after minimal physical activity, during routine sports practices, and sometimes even outside of sports participation.

Energy drinks are types of beverages that contain stimulants and are aimed at improving mental alertness and concentration and providing physical stimulation, such as optimizing athletic performance. They are different from sports drinks, which generally do not contain stimulants.