Woman's Day: On Call with Doctor Sandy: Reading and Weight Loss

On Call with Dr. Sandy: Reading and Weight Loss

Women's Day, October 17, 2008

Reader Question: My 11-year-old daughter is overweight. I’ve already tried to limit the snacks and sodas we have around the house. What else can I do to help?

Dr. Sandy: You’re off to a good start. Encouraging your daughter to be more active might help, too. When you talk to her about her weight, just remember to keep it positive by encouraging her to enjoy healthy food and fun physical activities, instead of nagging her about being too fat. You also might want to get her the book Lake Rescue, part of the Beacon Street Girls series by Annie Bryant. This isn’t a diet book, but rather an age-appropriate novel that happens to focus on the struggles of an overweight girl. When researchers from Duke Children’s Hospital had a group of obese girls ages 9 to 13 read this book, the girls actually lost a small amount of weight. (The group that didn’t read it gained slightly.) It might be worth a try.