You're there to help your children with their homework, and you remind them to brush their teeth. But it's also important to help them avoid or overcome issues related to obesity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 14 million children and adolescents are affected by obesity. This can lead to many other health complications if left untreated, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Here’s a few suggestions on how you can help your kids—and the whole family—fight off these risks:

Serve up good eats. When shopping for your family, choose foods that are lower in saturated fat—such as lean meat and low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese—and limit foods that have trans fats—such as cookies, cakes, crackers and frozen pizza.

Also aim to serve five fruits and veggies a day, and cut back on sweetened drinks. Make sure plenty of healthy food choices are available at home.

Invite your kids into the kitchen. Let your kids help you prepare healthy meals. It's a great way to teach them about good food choices.

Encourage exercise. Kids who are 6 years and older need 60 minutes of daily activity. Make being active a family affair. Go on walks or bike rides; play sports together; or engage in fun, active games (hoops, anyone?) with your kids.

Get your children checkups. Along with assessing overall health, a doctor can check a child's weight, blood pressure and cholesterol. Be sure all the adults in the family get their checkups too.