Another effort involves reviewing the foods at school. I recently heard the great news that milk producers inAmerica this fall are all reformulating their flavoredmilk to have 1/3 less sugars and calories. Many (but notall) nutritionists consider this a positive step, as schools that totally eliminated flavored milk encountered alarge drop in milk drinking, which raises the risk of kids not getting enough nutrients such as calcium. Whatdoes your school do?

Parents who want to learn more about childhood obesity and how to fight it can find excellent resources atthe website , which is officially run by the American Academy of Pediatrics. And , the American Academy of Family Medicine also offers many tips on weight loss for allages.

(This article was originally printed in Beijing Kids magazine, where I am a contributing editor. You can clickhere to read the rest of my BeijingKids “The Doc Is In” columns.)