Feb 09 2010
Reading Helps Girls Lose Weight
Just read about a study done at Duke Children’s Hospital where they have a family-centered Healthy Lifestyles Program. They took a group of 81 obese girls ages 9-13, divided them into three groups, and gave two of the groups different books to read.
One group of 31 girls was given a book that had an overweight character who suffered from lack of self-esteem and teasing because of her size, but as the story progresses she begins making healthier life-style choices and she starts to feel more confident about herself, developing a more positive attitude. The book that the second group of 33 girls read did not have an overweight character in it; and the third group of 17 girls was not given a book at all.
After six months, all the girls lost weight, but the girls in the first group lost the most, and there was noticeable improvement in their self-esteem.
The name of the book is Lake Rescue and it’s in the Beacon Street Girls Series, which is popular in with the 9-13 age group.
Hey, to all the fiction writers of books for girls. I see a market here for series of books that are fun and captivating for the adolescent girl market, that have messages of making healthy lifestyle choices. Books that aren’t afraid to deal with the issues that adolescent girls face today, and present positive choices for more positive outcomes.