HealthDay - SUNDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) — Even though it’s summertime, children shouldn’t be allowed to take a vacation from healthy eating habits, advises Dr. Sarah Armstrong, a pediatrician at Duke University
Medical Center.

“Routines go haywire, and with nothing to do after a few days in the pool, kids head straight for the refrigerator or snack bar, because they think they’re hungry, when they’re actually just bored,” Armstrong said in a university news release.

Add in things like regular servings of ice cream to beat the heat, hot dogs at the ball park, and funnel cake at the fair, and you have a summer-long binge of bad eating that can lead to weight gain.

Armstrong offered parents a number of ways to prevent their children from packing on excess pounds this summer.

Make sure kids get enough sleep. Research shows that late nights and sleeping in are known risk factors for weight gain. “When kids stay up late, they are more likely to watch TV and snack on dense, low-nutrient foods,” Armstrong said.