Fiction can Inspire Teen Girls to Manage Weight

Girls enrolled in a healthy lifestyles program had more success reducing their body mass index (BMI) percentile if they read a book with a fictional character as a role model, according to the study, “A ‘Novel’ Intervention: A Pilot Study of Children’s Literature and Healthy Lifestyles,” published in the March issue of Pediatrics (appearing online February 8). Researchers studied 81 obese girls enrolled in a program providing lifestyle and obesity management counseling in a clinical office setting. Some girls were given a book featuring an overweight girl who, through her adventures, improves her self-esteem and learns about nutrition and physical activity. Other girls were given a book with similar characters that did not address these issues. A third group of girls were not given a book as part of their counseling. Two months after the intervention, the girls who read the book geared to nutrition and physical activity had reduced their BMI percentile significantly more than the other two groups. The girls who read the alternate book reduced their BMI percentile more than the group with no book. The authors conclude that age-appropriate literature can encourage girls to read as part of a healthy lifestyle, and if they can identify with the subject matter, it can motivate them to make positive changes in their eating habits and physical activity levels.