Get your children eating well, and they'll look and feel great. They'll be able to concentrate better at school too!

Ever met a child who doesn't like crisps? Chocolate? Chicken nuggets and chips? Not many of them around, are there? Kids love junk, but it doesn't love them. It's wrecking their health.

Since 1980, the number of overweight children has increased threefold. A staggering nine per cent of two- to four-year-olds, and 16 per cent of six- to 15-year-olds, are now obese. If the figures keep rising like this, half of all children in England will be obese by 2020.

Obesity is linked to a number of life-threatening illnesses, from certain cancers to musculoskeletal and respiratory problems. Some experts are predicting that today's youngsters are so unhealthy they may become the first generation to die before their parents.

Obesity can also lead to low self-esteem and lack of confidence, and a diet lacking in the essential daily five portions of fruit and veg affects everything from bowel movements to concentration.

What do they need?

Make sure your child has the following every day:

5 portions of fruit and veg ’Äì to boost immunity and protect against illness. Fruit and veg are packed with plant constituents, called phytochemicals, which help fight diseases such as cancer and heart disease. They also contain high levels of fibre, vitamins and minerals. 4-6 portions of potatoes and grains ’Äì for energy, fibre, B vitamins and minerals. 2 portions of protein ’Äì for tissue repair, cell growth and fighting infection. Protein also contains B vitamins, iron and zinc. 2-3 portions of dairy foods ’Äì for calcium, which promotes growth and healthy teeth and bones, and Vitamin D to help the absorption of calcium. 1 portion of essential fats and oils ’Äì nuts and seeds, and their oils (such as olive and sunflower oils) provide energy, and vitamins A, D, E and K. Oily fish contains Omega 3 fatty acids which help protect against heart disease and boost brain function ’Äì read the Food For Thought feature on p? to find out more. * Do not give nuts to very young children, where there is a risk of choking or allergic reaction.

Tried and tested ways to get them eating

Knowing what your kids should be eating is one thing. Getting it down them is another! Here are some tips to tempt the fussiest of eaters!

Ban the TV

Don't let your kids watch telly while they eat. It will distract them from eating a proper meal, and it will also discourage conversation around the table ’Äì an important way for kids to talk, listen and learn about all sorts of¬Ýsubjects. Try to sit around the table together as a family, and teach your children table manners ’Äì appropriate to your child's age, of course. You can't expect a two-year-old to have perfect cutlery control!

Mealtime fun

It's all too easy for the dinner table to become a battleground, so make it a cool place to be. Try inviting friends round for tea, having the occasional picnic in the garden or letting the kids choose what they want for lunch. Give young children a couple of options, not total free rein or you'll get lots of orders for chocolate and chips!

And keep meals varied. Eating lots of different food not only helps you find more things that your child enjoys, it also ensures they get a wide range of nutrients.

Homemade 'junk'

Make healthier versions of your child's favourite foods for treats. Cut up potatoes into 'chunky chips', drizzle with olive oil and crushed garlic and bake in the oven at 200C for 40 minutes. Get your kids making pizza and choosing their own toppings.

Hide the veg

Just because it doesn't look like broccoli doesn't mean it isn't broccoli. If your kids are horrified at the thought of fruit or veg, use your imagination to get them eating it. Try these tricks: Make yummy pasta sauces with purˆ©ed vegetables Grate root veg into family favourites, such as spaghetti Bolognese and cottage pie

Make smoothies with a selection of tasty fruit, yoghurt and orange juice Pour fruit juice into lolly moulds and freeze, for delicious ice lollies on hot days Use purˆ©ed veg as fun dips for breadsticks, and slices of carrot, toast, cucumber and pepper

Look here!

Children are very visually led. If it looks appealing, they're more receptive to it. Think about the colour and presentation of the food you're serving. A young child is more likely to try a food if it looks attractive. So have brightly coloured food and arrange it on the plate to look interesting, in the shape of a face for example.

And be creative. If your child won't eat cooked sliced carrot, try carrot batons, baby carrots, raw sticks of carrot or grated carrot.

Also, a plate piled high can be a daunting sight to a child, so keep the portions smaller. You can always add more if your child eats it all. A child's portion of fruit or veg, for example, should be roughly the size of their fist.

Practice what you preach

Make sure you have a balanced diet, and sit down to eat with your child. They learn by imitation. And teach them what food is good to eat, and why. And why other types of foods need to be restricted.

Snack attack

Choose snacks carefully. Lots of kids fill up on unhealthy snacks, leaving no room for wholesome meals. Give them fruit, veg or starchy carbohydrates, which are packed with energy but not laden with sugar.

Don't stress

Getting agitated about your child's eating habits won't help. Try to keep calm at mealtimes, and encourage them to eat without making everyone upset.

And try not to focus too closely on what your child eats in any particular day. A child's appetite varies a lot from day to day, so to get a proper picture of what their diet's like you need to look at what's been eaten throughout a whole week.

Don't give up

If you keep serving up healthy food and restricting the junk, they will learn to eat a balanced diet. Experts reckon that if your child doesn't like a food instantly, they might acquire a taste for it later but they may need to eat it more than ten times before that happens.

And children's tastes change, so don't fall into the trap of thinking your child doesn't like something and never serving it up again. Keep trying foods until your child has a wide range of things they like.

First foods

When you start weaning your baby, at around four months, it's best to keep foods simple. Babies are used to formula or breastmilk, which is pretty bland, so an explosion of different flavours can put them off.

Baby rice is a great first food, because you mix it with your baby's usual milk so it tastes familiar. In the early days you may want to mix a little of your baby's usual milk with their solids, to help make it taste more familiar. Then you can gradually reduce the amount of milk you add.

Good first foods to try are apple, pear, banana, carrot, sweet potato and butternut squash. After a few weeks, you can introduce a wide variety of foods and start combining some. Children introduced to a wide range of foods now are less likely to become fussy eaters later. And mixing sweet and savoury flavours is a good way to sweeten vegetables or reduce the sweetness of fruit.

Your baby won't be eating much at first, so it's a good idea to make up batches of purˆ©es to freeze and use later. Use ice-cube trays to freeze individual portions, then transfer to a freezer bag labelled with the date and contents. When you need it, simply defrost thoroughly and reheat. Allow to cool before giving to your baby.

Mums' talk*

"Ellie eats better if we play games. We play 'copying', where I eat something from my plate and she eats the same thing from hers. Then I copy her. And for dessert I chop up different fruit and get her to close her eyes and open her mouth. I pop in a piece of fruit and she has to guess what it is. She's so busy guessing, she barely realises that she's chomped through so much fruit." Alison, mum to Ellie, four

"I used to make stacks of carrot cake because Emily wouldn't eat carrots any other way. She was happy because she got a slice of cake, and I was happy because I knew she'd had some veg." Sam, mum to Emily, three

"I've found that taking healthy snacks with me when I'm out and about is a great way to get Thomas to eat good food. At home he knows there are other options, so he plays up. But when we're out he's happy to munch on raw carrot sticks, rice cakes and dried fruit, because I tell him it's that or nothing." Sue, mum to Thomas, two

"Neither of my kids are great fruit lovers, but I purˆ©e great batches of different fruit and add it to stuff they do like ’Äì yoghurt, rice pudding, porridge and Weetabix." Anna, mum to Alice, four, and Elizabeth, two

"I make James 'rainbow' mash. He's always adored mashed potato, so I prepare colourful versions of it by adding all sorts of mushed-up veg to it ’Äì carrot, swede, parsnip, spinach. You name it, he has it, but all hidden in his beloved mash." Karen, mum to James, one

Remember* fussy eating is a normal part of child development. But if you're worried about your child's diet, growth or development, talk to your GP or health visitor.