Keeping your teenagers in shape depends on the calories they consume and their activity. And if they’re like the average American teen, they need all the help they can get.

Overweight teens consume 110 to 165 more calories than required each day, which translates into an extra 10 pounds around their waistlines that will only get bigger over time, nutritionists say.

Mother to a 12-year-old girl, Lisa Mattox of Taneyville, Missouri, keeps to this top 10 Back-to-School wellness list:

•  Just turn off the television. With the push of a button, it will be amazing how you can get your family more involved with each other.

•  Don't buy junk food or drinks. If you have the stuff in your house you will eat it, and so will your kids.

•  Do buy lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, different kinds of cheese, and deli cuts of meat.

•  Make after-school snacks of plates of fresh fruit, rolled deli meat, and cut cheese.
 
•  Make sure your kids have bikes and make sure they ride them several times a week, if not every day.  If you have a swimming pool, make sure they swim several times a week if not every day.

•  Think about getting your children, especially if they're younger, exercise balls.  I have one that my daughter uses when she is watching television. She rolls on it, bounces on it, and has all kinds of fun on it. The ball works her leg, arm, and stomach muscles, and she doesn't even consider that she is actually exercising.
 
•  Include your children in buying groceries and educate them on how to eat healthy. We compare bad fats to good fats, total carbs, sodium levels, etc. It makes her aware of healthy eating and hopefully will prevent her from having an eating disorder.
 
•  Stop buying your kids video games. If they only have a select few to play, they will less likely spend five hours a day playing and thinking about them.

•  Say goodbye to fast food. Cooking dinner at home is so much healthier. I am talking a real dinner, not a pre-packaged, pre-cooked or frozen dinner. I am a working, single mom, and I have to find time to cook dinner for my daughter and my mother every night. 

There are times I don't feel like it, so I understand the want-to-go-out-to-eat or throw a pre-packaged dinner in the oven or microwave.  But, on the same note, I am fortunate because I don't like those kind of dinners, so it is easy for me to resist the urge to throw something in the oven and go sit down and relax, which is really what I want to do after a long stressful day at the office.
 
•  Don't overschedule your children. I let my daughter play one sport at a time. I don't push her to do other things. I have instilled in my daughter the importance of mental health and how important it is to have inner peace.

Denise Signorelli of Las Vegas wants her two kids, Dagny, 14, and Tony, 11, to grow into healthy adults.

"I never let my kids leave without breakfast and plans for lunch," she says. "I know how important calories are to efficient learning, and my kids are consistently high achieving students. Encouraging my kids to be active, have friends and make good food choices has paid off in healthy attitudes already.

"I hate to see parents giving their kids sports drinks, which they believe are better than water, and driving their kids to school instead of getting the extra exercise by walking."

With those thoughts, here is her Top 10 countdown:

10.  Adjust backpack straps and contents to spread weight. The majority of the weight is supported by hips and not  hung on the shoulders. Encourage the use of both straps.

9.  Walk your child to school. Reinforce good pedestrian habits, including crossing only in designated crosswalks, walking while facing the traffic, and adhering to all traffic signals and crossing guards.

8.  Have simple, healthy after-school snacks available. A cup of low-fat yogurt and cut-up fresh fruit beats high-fat cookies and milk. Try crunchy carrots and celery in hummus dip - much healthier than potato chips and ranch dressing.

7.  Try fruit yogurt, string cheese or low-fat ice cream, if your kids don't drink milk. Even fortified fruit juices will help build strong bones.

6.  Encourage your kids to make friends and bring friends home. Social contacts are an important part of being healthy.  Encourage them and their friends to play active games and play sports on a team or just for fun.

5.  Don't use food as a reward or bribe. Candy may seem like a great way to get the homework done quickly, but this kind of reward teaches poor eating habits. Even healthy foods should not be used to reward or bribe. Accomplishment for its own sake is the best reward.

4.  Don't fall into the "sports drink" advertising shenanigan. Most sports drinks contain nearly as much sugar as soda and are nothing more than empty calories. Lobby your school to remove them from vending machines and replace them with flavored, unsugared water or just plain water.

3.  Read nutrition labels with your kids. Even small kids enjoy comparing good foods with "junk" foods using the labels.  Start with simple calorie and fat count with your elementary-school children. By middle school, they can start evaluating vitamins and minerals. High schoolers can look for whole grains, little refined sugar and moderate sodium content.

2.  Watch out for school lunches that have become high in fat and refined carbohydrates. Talk to your kids about making healthy choices. Encourage them to pack their own lunch and not trade for less healthy choices. If you have time, get involved in the school board or other agency that makes decisions about school food choices.

1.  Get your kids started right with a whole-grain cereal and milk or yogurt.  A little juice and perhaps a handful of nuts will help those growing brains assimilate much information.