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unde rsta nd po rt io ns
food labe ls

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Eat Smart
on TV time

Move More

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jum pi ng

A Guide for Healthy Eating and Getting Active for Children

www.getirelandactive.ie
Eat Smart
Move More
What changes would I like to make?
We all want our children to grow up to be happy, healthy adults. But it can sometimes be hard
to know how. Encouraging children to eat smart and move more is a great way to start.

The information in this booklet has been put together by health professionals and will support
you to help your child to eat well, move more and live longer.

Whatever their weight, it is important that children eat properly and get lots of physical
activity to help them build a healthy body. If they are overweight they are at greater risk of
heart disease and diabetes in later life. If they are underweight it is just as important for them
to eat healthy food and be active.

In Ireland, 1 in 4 children aged seven are either

overweight or obese
Staying a healthy weight is all about balance. Your child takes in energy through their food
and their body uses up energy through physical activity. If the energy they take in is more
than the energy they use they will put on weight and become overweight.

Follow the information in this booklet to help your child reach a healthier weight.

If you are concerned about your child’s weight – speak with your School Nurse or GP.

Eat Smart Move More Page 3

 Eat Smart
Eating smart means eating different foods in the right amounts.
Use the Food Pyramid as a guide for choosing the right foods in the right amount for your child.

Not Foods and drinks high

every day in fat, sugar and salt
No more than once or twice a week

In very Fats, spreads

small
amounts and oils

2 Meat, poultry, fish,

da l for

eggs, beans and nuts

ery tia
y.

Servings
ev sen

a day
ety es
ari re

Milk, yogurt and cheese

a v es a

3-5 5-8 year olds need 3 servings every day

joy elv

Servings 9-12 year olds need 5 servings every day

en sh

a day
13-18 year olds need 5 servings every day
h, se
alt he
he n t

Wholemeal cereals
3-5
od s o

and breads, potatoes,

go ood

Servings
pasta and rice
ef

a day
Th

5-7 Vegetables,
Servings
a day
salad and fruit

Page 4 Eat Smart Move More

 Servings equivalent to approximately 100 calories:
4 squares of chocolate, 1 chocolate biscuit or 2 plain biscuits
Limit to sometimes, 1 small cup cake (no icing), ½ or 1 cereal bar (check the label)
not every day. ½ can or 200ml sugary drink, 1 bag lower-fat crisps
1 scoop of vanilla ice-cream, 1 plain mini-muffin

Use as little as possible. One serving equals:

Choose reduced-fat or 1 portion pack of reduced fat spread for 2-3 slices of bread
light spreads. Choose
1 teaspoon of oil per person when cooking
rapeseed, olive, canola,
sunflower or corn oils. Mayonnaise and salad dressing also contain oil

Choose lean meat One serving equals:

and low-fat cooking The child’s palm of the hand – width and depth without fingers and thumbs,
methods (grilling, baking, shows how much meat, poultry or fish needed in a day
steaming or boiling).
2-3 dessertspoons of peas, beans or lentils
Choose fish twice a week
1 egg
– oily fish is best.

One serving equals:

1 glass of milk (200ml) (skimmed milk is suitable from 5 years of age)
Reduced-fat or low-fat 1 carton yogurt (125g) or 1 yogurt drink (200ml)
varieties are best. 1 matchbox size (25g) hard or semi-hard cheese such as chedder or edam
25g soft cheese such as brie or camembert

One serving equals:

Include in each meal. 2 thin slices of bread, 2 breakfast cereal wheat or oat biscuits
High fibre varieties 1/3 cup of dry porridge oats or muesli
are best. 1 cup of flake type breakfast cereal
1 cup of cooked pasta, rice or noodles, 2 medium or 4 small potatoes

One serving equals:

1 kid-size medium fruit – apple, orange, pear or banana
More is better. 2 small fruits – plums, kiwis, mandarin oranges or a handful of grapes
½ cup or 4 dessertspoons of cooked vegetables – fresh or frozen
1 bowl of salad – lettuce, tomato, cucumber, 100ml unsweetened fruit juice

Eat Smart Move More Page 5

 manage weight with
smaller food portions
Snack check Sugar swap Me-size meals Cut back on fat
Many snacks are full Swap sugary snacks It is important to make We all know too much
of sugar, salt, fat and and drinks for ones sure that children get fat is bad for us, but
calories. that are lower in just the right amount it is not always easy
sugar. It can make for their age – not to know how to cut it
Keep count. You
a big difference to too little and not too out.
may be surprised
calorie intake – and it much.
how many sweets, Cut down on
is better for their teeth
crisps, biscuits and Give them a portion top-shelf snack
too.
cakes your child that matches their foods. Allow them
eats in a day. Healthier snacks size not the same occasionally – not
- fresh fruit and amount of food as every day.
Cut down on top
vegetables (apple you.
shelf foods. Allow Grill or bake food
slices, carrot sticks,
them occasionally – Give smaller in the oven rather
baby tomatoes,
not every day. portions to begin than frying. This
bananas) or bread
with then let them will help cut fat
Don’t use top shelf sticks.
ask for more if content by as much
foods as rewards.
Healthier drinks they’re still hungry. as two-thirds.
Find different ways
- water, semi- Don’t pressure
to reward your child Trim off any fat you
skimmed milk or them to eat all the
– stickers, a trip to can see from meat
diluted fresh fruit food on their plate
the park. before cooking it.
juice. if they’re full up.
Take the skin off
Don’t forget that
Healthier breakfast When eating out – chicken and turkey.
sometimes it is
cereal - lower sugar ask for kid-size
kinder to say no. Drain fat from meat
cereals, fruit or portions.
toast. after cooking.

Page 6 Eat Smart Move More

 Check the
e
label and get th
Food Labels right balance
Some foods th
high in fibre m
at are
ay also
To help understand what you and your family are eating you need r and/
be high in suga
to be able to make sense of food labels. or salt.
Healthy foods are low in fat, low in sugar, low in salt and high in fibre. Under EU
food law, when nutrition information is given it must be presented as per 100g
of food or drink.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Typical value per 100g
30g serving with 125ml skimmed milk
SUGAR
Low-sugar =
less than 5g per 100g ENERGY 1580 kJ 725 kJ
372 kcal 171 kcal
Sugar-free =
no added or naturally
occurring sugar PROTEIN 7g 7g

No added sugar = CARBOHYDRATE 84g 31g 100g of some

no extra sugar added of which sugars 8g 8g foods may be
starch 76g 23g more or less than
a typical serving
FAT 0.9g 2.5g
of which saturates 0.2g 1.5g
FAT FIBRE 3g 0.9g
Low-fat = SALT
less than 3g per 100g SODIUM 0.7g 0.25g Low-salt = 0.3g
Low-saturates = SALT 1.8g 0.7g
less than 1.5g

Look for products with

FIBRE the lowest % GDA – most
High-fibre = people need to cut down
6g or more per 100g on all these nutrients

Many food companies choose to display Guideline Daily Amounts.

These are most often presented for a serving or portion of food, not 100g.

Eat Smart Move More Page 7

Move More
Moving more means being physically active in a variety of ways.
Use the Activity Pyramid and Activity Table as a guide to the different type of activities
your child can do to move more.

Cut down on sedentary activities

Limit screen time to a total of 1 hour per day
Screentime - playing games on
computers/tablets/phones, watching
TV/DVDs. Sitting down or lounging about.

Physical activity
All children and young people should be
active at a moderate to vigorous level,
for at least 60 minutes every day

Strength and flexibility,

bone strengthening
At least 3 times a week
Swinging on playground bars, climbing
walls, hopscotch, skipping, jumping, running,
ballet, gymnastics, yoga, martial arts.

Be more active every day

Walking, cycling, active play - games
involving movement, dancing, use
stairs instead of the lift, help around
the house, walk the dog.

Page 8 Eat Smart Move More

TYPE OF ACTIVITY EXAMPLES
Moderate intensity Cycling
(Heart is beating faster Brisk walking
than normal, breathing is Swimming
harder than normal) Skateboarding or rollerblading
Hiking
Dancing
Games of catch and throw

Vigorous intensity Active games involving running and chasing such as tag
(Heart is beating much Cycling
faster than normal and Jumping rope
breathing is much harder Running
than normal) Vigorous dancing
Sports such as gaelic football, hurling/camogie, soccer,
rugby, basketball, swimming, tennis

Muscle Games such as tug of war

strengthening Rope climbing
Swinging or climbing on playground equipment or bars
Climbing walls
Sit-ups (curl-ups or crunches)
Modified push-ups (with knees on the floor)
Martial arts, such as karate

Bone strengthening Games such as hopscotch

Hopping, skipping, jumping
Jumping rope
Running
Sports such as gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, tennis

Eat Smart Move More Page 9

60 active minutes Make it enjoyable and Get up and about
It doesn’t have to be all
fun Today’s way of life means most
sport – running around and Include a variety of activities of us spend too long sitting
having active fun counts too. so getting more active doesn’t down.
Children are naturally active become a chore. Encourage your child to be
so any amount of physical
Join in – adults need to be active during their free time.
activity counts toward their 60
minutes. active too. Try not to sit or lounge about
Make a list of activities your for more than 30 minutes at a
Active play every day –
child would like to try – check time.
hopscotch, hide and seek,
dancing to music, cycling, out www.getirelandactive.ie Limit the amount of time
tag, skipping. for details of these places in your child can sit in front of a
your local area. screen – TV/computer/tablet/
Active treats – a trip to
Allow your child to explore phone. Set daily and weekly
the park, playground or
different activities so they limits.
swimming pool.
find out what they like. Get them running around after
Active travel – get them off
school. When the evenings
the bus and out of the car
are dark early, allow some
– if it’s walkable, walk it or
playtime before homework.
cycle.
Don’t let the weather interfere
Organised activities –
– swap outdoor activities for
hurling, football, karate,
indoor ones or wear suitable
dance, archery, community
clothing.
games.

Page 10 Eat Smart Move More

Getting more active
All children and young people should
be active, at a moderate to vigorous
level, for at least 60 minutes every
day. Include muscle-strengthening,
flexibility and bone-strengthening
exercises 3 times a week.

Start off slowly

Include an extra 15-30 minutes
activity 1-2 days in your weekly
routine. Gradually build this
into your daily routine, adding
activities over time until you
reach your goal of at least 60
minutes a day.

Moderate activity Vigorous activity

Heart is beating faster than Heart is beating much faster
normal, breathing is harder than normal and breathing
than normal is much harder than normal

Eat Smart Move More Page 11

 Putting it into practice
Use these exercises to help plan how to eat smarter and move more.
Fill in the food and activity pyramids below and when complete, compare your
pyramids with the ones on pages 4 and 8.

Food Foods and drinks high

Fill in everything your in fat, sugar and salt
child ate yesterday.
Try to include serving
sizes and include all Fats, spreads
meals and snacks. and oils

Meat, poultry, fish,

eggs, beans and nuts

Milk, yogurt and cheese

Wholemeal cereals
and breads, potatoes,
pasta and rice

Vegetables,
salad and fruit

Page 12 Eat Smart Move More

What changes could you make? Helpful tips
at a time and
Pick one change
child to make it.
1. work with your
ily involved –
Get all the fam
st by example.
2. children learn be
n activity to do
Pick a family fu
weekends: visit
3. together at the
imming pool or
the park, the sw
e it a routine.
go cycling - mak
d
sheet below an
Use the record to pl an
page 19
reward chard on

Activity your activ iti es .

Fill in all the activity your child did last week.

Moderate/
Vigorous
Day Activity Duration Intensity

Ex. Monday Cycling with friends 40min Vigorous

Eat Smart Move More Page 13

 · P14 exchange the food tip for an exercise tip

Meal Planner
It is important for children to have regular meals as growing bodies respond better to routine.

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

Breakfast 1-2 cereal wheat A bowl of cereal oat A bowl of oat cereal A bowl of flake type
at home biscuits with low- biscuits with low- with a teaspoon of cereal with low-fat
fat fortified milk. fat fortified milk. nutmeg or cinnamon fortified milk. Add
Add some fruit like Add some fruit like banana for variety
berries/banana/ berries/banana/
raisins for variety raisins for variety

Breakfast Banana or handful of Banana, cereal bar, Breakfast milkshake Apple, a handful of dry
on the run raisins with a slice of and a glass of low-fat - 200ml low-fat cereal and a low-fat
toast and a low-fat fortified milk fortified milk or yogurt drink
yogurt drink a low-fat yogurt
blended with fruit

Snack Low-fat yogurt Orange segments Banana Cheese

(Little Break)

Lunch 2 slices of wholemeal Pita bread with Tortilla wrap with a Cooked pasta with tuna,
bread with a low- cooked ham, low-fat slice of chicken, relish sweetcorn, spring onion
fat cheese slice and mayonnaise, lettuce and lettuce and a and tomato ketchup
tomato and cucumber sliced apple

Snack Fresh fruit 1 thin slice of fruit 2 rice cakes Packet of plain popcorn
brack/ banana bread

Dinner Shepherd’s pie with Lamb curry with Spaghetti bolognaise Baked fish with
sweetcorn and green vegetables and vegetables and pasta
beans boiled rice

Page 14 Eat Smart Move More

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
A bowl of porridge Slice of wholemeal Omelette with lots
Try to organise around
needn’t be boring. toast with baked beans of fresh/frozen three regular mealtimes –
Add honey or yoghurt or scrambled egg vegetables breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Breakfast is the most important

meal of the day. Don’t skip it.
Try getting up 15 minutes earlier
so you have some time to wake
Slice of wholemeal toast
thinly spread with jam or up before breakfast.
reduced-fat spread Most schools have a healthy
eating policy – your child cannot
bring top-shelf foods. Include
healthy snacks in lunchboxes.
Carrot sticks Low-fat yogurt Chopped apple Eat together whenever you can.
Children copy parents, brothers,
sisters and friends. When they
see you eating lots of different,
Brown roll with mashed 1 wholemeal bap with Cooked rice, lettuce,
healthy foods they are more
hard boiled egg, lettuce, a lean grilled rasher, tomato, low-fat
likely to do the same.
peppers and tomato tomato and avocado cheese or tuna
Involve your child in planning
and preparing meals. They are
Sugar-free jelly Small bowl of Low-fat yogurt more likely to eat foods they’ve
homemade soup helped prepare. For recipe ideas
download 101 Square Meals
from www.hse.ie/!WHKNTW.
Roast breast of chicken Stir fried pork with Chicken casserole
(remove the skin), carrot, peppers, mushrooms, with vegetables and
parsnip and broccoli with onions and noodles boiled potato
a jacket potato

Eat Smart Move More Page 15

Let’s find some healthier alternatives at
the Food Exchange
FATS AND OILS For a healthier option why not...
Butter › use half the amount of a mono/poly-unsaturated spread or reduced-fat spread

Mayonnaise › choose low-fat mayonnaise or relish or chutney

Salad dressing › choose reduced-fat dressing

Vegetable oil › use a small amount of olive/canola/rapeseed oil

MEAT, For a healthier option why not...

POULTRY, FISH
Beef/lamb/bacon/pork › choose cuts with little visible fat and trim any remaining fat

Chicken/turkey › remove all skin

Tuna › choose tuna in brine

Sausages › choose 80% meat/reduced-fat/vegetarian

MILK, YOGURT For a healthier option why not...

AND CHEESE
Yogurts › choose plain/fruit low-fat yogurt

Cheese › choose reduced-fat cheeses or small amounts of lower fat cheeses e.g edam,
mozzarella, brie

Milk › choose low-fat, skimmed or fortified (added vitamins)

Page 16 Eat Smart Move More

FOOD HIGH
IN FAT, SUGAR For a healthier option why not... ER -
AND SALT REMEMB
RY
Crisps › try low-fat crisps, rice cakes or popcorn
NOT EVE
Chocolate › choose fun-sized chocolate bars
DAY
Biscuits › choose low-fat/plain biscuits

Hot chocolate › choose low-calorie hot chocolate or cocoa

Chips › choose oven chips

Ice-cream › choose low-fat frozen yoghurt/ice-cream/ ice-pops

Cream › choose low-fat natural yogurt

DRINKS For a healthier option why not... IMPO RTAluNdTing-

rinks, inc
fizzy d ,
versions
d sugar
All day › choose water or milk no adde a n d
age teeth
can dam
At meal times only › choose fresh fruit juice (100ml once a day),
bones
well diluted cordials (5 parts water to 1 part cordial)

Eat Smart Move More Page 17

Set goals and keep track
of your progress
Setting goals is a good way to stay
motivated and keep track of your
progress.
DAILY GOAL
Choose one change from your list on
page 13.
Agree a goal with your child and a
suitable weekly reward if they achieve the
goal. The reward should not involve food.
Choosing an active reward such as a trip
to the playground is a good way to make
moving more attractive and fun.
Suggestions for daily goals and reward
could include the following:
Eat vegetables every day
Try one new piece of fruit
ry day
Walk for at least 20 minutes eve
e
Eat all meals at the kitchen tabl
Try a new after-school activity
h day
Watch only one hour of TV eac
lunch
Actively play at break time and
dur ing sch ool
ry day
Try to be active for one hour eve
after sch ool

chart to
Use the reward
s and
record your goal
ss.
track your progre WEEKLY REWARD
Trip to the playgro
und
New colouring pe
ncils or paint set
Go for a swim
Get a new book fro
m the library

Page 18 Eat Smart Move More

My Reward Chart My goal is:

Encourage your child to set food

and activity goals each week. To achieve my goal I will:
Place a star in the food or activity
boxes for each day the goal is achieved.
My reward is:

FOOD MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

ACTIVITY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

Visit www.healthpromotion.ie/publications to print further copies of this Reward Chart.

Eat Smart Move More Page 19

Published by: Health Service Executive Informed by Eat Smart Move More booklet by kind
Publication date: June 2017 permission of Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute and Irish
Society for Chartered Physiotherapist.
Review date: June 2020
Order code: HPM00835