Reading the right book helps obese kids lose weight

Researchers at Duke Children's Hospital in North Carolina have looked at the effect of literature on obese adolescents and discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

The researchers recruited young girls already taking part in a comprehensive weight loss program to read an age-appropriate novel called Lake Rescue.

The obese girls age 9 to 13 were given the book, produced with the help of pediatric experts because it included specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.

Dr. Alexandra C. Russell, a medical student at Duke who led the study says they found six months later that the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn't (+.05%) read the book.

Dr. Sarah Armstrong, the director of Duke's Healthy Lifestyles Program says in her role as a pediatrician, she has told parents on numerous occasions to buy a book that might provide useful advice, but has never been able to back up the recommendations.

Dr. Armstrong says the study is the first to find that literature can have a positive impact on healthy lifestyle changes in young girls.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obesity is becoming more prevalent in children with 16% of children age 6 to 19 overweight or obese, a number that has tripled since 1980.

Armstrong says researchers are consequently looking at a variety of ways to help children stay healthy, lose weight and be more active, but most do not work very well.

The weight loss options that are effective are far more radical and typically involve taking powerful medications with side effects, or undergoing a permanent surgical procedure.

Dr. Armstrong says while the BMI decrease attributed to the book is small, any decrease in BMI is encouraging because BMI typically increases in children as they grow and develop and is fine as long as it follows a normal, progressing curve.

In overweight kids, however, BMI usually increases more rapidly and if their BMI percentile goes down, it means they are they are either losing weight or getting tall and not gaining weight, which are both positive indicators in children who are trying to lose weight.

Dr. Armstrong says the idea that a book can positively influence weight loss and decrease BMI is encouraging because it's fairly easy to implement and is also a welcome addition in a world where there are few alternatives.

The findings were presented at the Obesity Society's annual scientific meeting.