Beth Oden, 48, mother of two small boys, is on a mission against junk food. When the boys, ages 7 and 5, are given sugary or high-fat treats at school or in goodie bags at parties, she has them collect and bring home for the "junk food witch." She takes the container of food away overnight and, in the morning, there will be a toy from the "good witch" for the boys. Let's try to understand, weather this methodology is good for our children or not?

We keep cookies and chips out of our home and pack our children's school lunches with fresh fruits and vegetables. Sometimes we try to feel ourselves like 'food nazi'! Driven by concern about childhood obesity or other food anxieties, more nutrition-focused parents are becoming as food cops, looking for every morsel their children eat. For them, every cupcake becomes a potential future health crisis.

Their preoccupation with their children's diet is understandable. Rates of childhood obesity has increased in recent years, with about one-third of kids are overweight or obese, according to government reports. Being overweight puts children at risk of long-term health problems such as diabet and heart diseases, or depression and poor self-esteem. The psychologist Edward Abramson, a professor and childhood eating, expert at California State University, Chico. says: "When parents become too intrusive, especially as children get older, there is a battle of wills. The more the parent says, 'You can't eat that,' the more the kid says, 'Just watch me.'"

Today kids grow up surrounded by fast food and high-calorie snacks loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats. But allowing only "good" foods like fruits and vegetables and banning "bad" foods can actually inflame kids' desire for the forbidden goodies.

Finding a balance!

Concerned parents can find the balance by encouraging healthy attitudes about eating, but not absolutely banning any particular food, except when there are allergies or other medical concerns.

The world's tallest man has been named by Guinness World Records for the launch of its 2010 book. 27-year-old Turk Sultan Kosen said he hoped his new-... >>

Lotions, potions, cosmetic surgery - how do celebrities manage to stay so healthy and beautiful long after the rest of us have begun to feel the age? ... >>