According to a new study by obesity researchers at Duke University, overweight pre-teen girls can lose weight simply by reading. However, it somewhat depends on the material that they read.
In the study, a group of obese girls, age 9 to 13, read the novel "Lake Rescue". The main character in this book is an overweight female pre-teen "who struggles with low self-esteem, feelings of isolation and teasing because of her size". Another group read a book that did not deal with overweight issues and another group did not read. The study took place over six months.
All the girls in the two groups that read lost weight. However the girls that read "Lake Rescue", the book with an overweight heroine, lost more. This study was done as a way to motivate girls to lose weight without placing difficult restrictions on them. "Lake Rescue" includes a likeable character that learns to make healthier choices and the girls that read this book were able to relate to her and then emulate her.
Even if the benefits of this method prove to be small, promoting reading to children, tweens and teens is always advantageous. So, there is no reason not to try this. If you need help finding other books with overweight tweens that learn to be health and gain self esteem, your local librarian should be able to offer many suggestions.
For the full story see Time magazine December 1, 2008 issue or the story on Time.com.
Awesome, a win/win. Girls shed weight and read more. I am lovin' this!
I'm not sure if I agree with the idea of promoting reading as a weight loss tool. With all of the unhealthy focus on looks these days, isn't it better to promote the mind over the body? Shouldn't we be encouraging kids to read for the mental strength it will give them?
Josie, I don't think what is intended is to give your daughters these books and say "this is for you to lose weight". When you recommend or pick out books for an overweight daughter, try to sometimes pick books that have an overweight heroine that learns how to have a healthier lifestyle and feels better for it. This will will then give your daughter book mental and emotional strength.
This is actually true,I myself experienced it once.I was so into books ,any book,and it help me control my craving for food it kept me too busy to think of food.
Also with a diet water helps! heres an article that says a bit about it.
http://emergevictoriousoverfat.com/2009/01/water-and-exercise/
The New Year ends by the early one, Setsubun ends, too and March 3 is
Hinamatsuri.
Various dieting、beauty, healthy is written in this blog.
wow thas cool..
well im not over weight but i find it very cool how reading which includes you to just sit down and do nothing can loose you weight. well i dont think it can EXACTLY loose you weight but thats rlly interesting. i came across this because i wanted to find books online like meg cabot..HELP.
Hi Jennifer,
great read i agree... what a fantastic way to form the mindset for losing weight... reading certainly helps out with almost everything i am sure everyone has experienced this at some stage where you crave something... then some book or article will grab your attention then all of sudden the craving is gone because your mind was being disracted if you will, or fulfilled in a better way
I totally agree reading books helped me quit smoking.. once i realised all the stuff i wanted to learn i simply had no time for it... could easily use this method for anything i beleive...
Really can it work? I might recommend those books to my fatty friends :D
It makes sense. We are all much more influenced on the actions and ideas of others than we realise - if this was not the case then advertising would fail.