Childhood Obesity, Exercise & Motivation System

When my 6 year old daughter came home from school in tears because a classmate had made fun of her weight, I felt terrible. I never considered Janie overweight, even though I had noticed the stares and dirty looks that strangers often gave us when we were at the mall, restaurants, or even school events.

“Let’s go see Dr. Stephens and see what she says about your weight”, I suggested. “If she thinks you are overweight, I’m sure she will know what to do”. To tell the truth, I was a little reluctant to see the doctor, because admitting that Janie was overweight made me feel like I was a bad parent.

After weighing Janie and giving her a thorough check up, Dr. Stephens advised that she was in the 96th percentile of weight for her age group, and it would be necessary for her to make some changes in order to prevent type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, or other serious conditions from happening to her at a very young age.

Dr. Stephens explained that Janie’s weight did not mean that I was a bad parent, since many factors go together to cause childhood obesity. Food manufacturers advertising junk foods to young children, supersized portions served by restaurants, less emphasis on physical activity in school and homes, and the popularity of fast food restaurants all contributed to the problem. “The fact that you have taken action to help Janie become healthier proves that you are a good parent”, Dr. Stephens said.

The pediatrician suggested we start a program that would encourage Janie to eat a wide variety of healthful foods every day; get at least 1 hour of physical exercise, and get adequate sleep. The program should be something that Janie would look forward to as fun and challenging. It should also be easy to understand and give us all the tools we needed to succeed.

She recommended a program that:

          -Let Janie and me set small goals for healthier living with
          rewards for meeting each goal
          -Had a simple way to track improvement
          -Gave basic information about nutrition that a 6-year old
          could understand
          -Gave me the additional information and tools I needed
          to make the program easy and fun for my daughter

Now, six months later, Janie is like a new child! Just the other day, another mom and I were talking in the dentist’s waiting room and the subject of childhood obesity came up. The mom looked at Janie and said “You are so lucky to have a little girl that is trim and healthy”. I just smiled.

Does this sound familiar? If so, know you're not alone (and you're at the right place).

If your children or grandchildren need help reaching a healthy weight, see our age-appropriate programs at

If your children are picky eaters, our Daily Activity Chart will help make sure they eat enough of the right kinds of foods, even if they eat the same foods frequently.

If you need help planning well-balanced meals, our 28 days of dietician-prepared menu plans take the guesswork out of meal planning. They even include recommended serving sizes for each item according to the child’s age.

Not sure if the program will work for your child? We have a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.

Manal Marghalani, M.D.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, wrote:

"My son joined your program last year. It inspired his sister, too. I myself spent 2 years in Ottawa, Canada to get a subspecialty in eating disorders and obesity as an overseas psychiatrist. I found some of your tips very helpful to my young clients when I referred them to your website.

My children are more aware of how fast food is not a healthy choice to them any more. They stopped asking for candy bars every day, and they spend less time on the computer and more on their bikes.

Thank you very much for your help."

In a hurry to get started? Our e-memberships will come to you as e-mail attachments within a few hours. Paper memberships and Deluxe membership packages come by US Priority Mail, and should arrive in 2-4 business days after we receive your order.

Need ideas for exercise activities or recipes? Our monthly newsletters for children have suggested exercise activities, recipes or links to recipe websites, stories about other children, and much more! We also have carefully-selected pedometers, jumping ropes, and exercise DVD’s for different age groups.

"I won't take much of your time, but I wanted to let you know how successful my son has been, just taking a few of your suggestions. He began to gain weight when we moved from CA to FL about 6 1/2 years ago. It was dreadfully hot here when we arrived and we were not used to it. It became much more pleasant to spend time indoors where we had A/C, and the pounds started to come. I was an oblivious mother and thought he was so cute, no matter what. He was chunky in kindergarten and 1st grade, and I realized he was OVERWEIGHT in 2nd. I had to buy him a boys XL Cub Scout shirt, and even though it was way too long, it was the only size that would button up. In 3rd grade, he was wearing 18 Husky pants, and had the self esteem of a slug. He felt that nobody wanted to be his friend, and it was a vicious circle. Nobody DID want to be around someone who was such a downer. I saw his doctor at the end of 3rd grade, and he said we had to do something. My son was 130 pounds, 4'8", and destined to keep going if we didn't intervene.

His attention span was bad. His test scores proved it as well. The doctor suggested a low dose med for his ADD, but said we had to reduce the sugar intake and increase fruits and veggies, something your advice column repeats time and again. In about a year, his ADD was gone, and he had lost 25 pounds and grown almost 3 inches! His test scores soared, and he has tons of friends now, not because of his appearance but because of his self esteem.

Thank you, Bev, for loving these kids enough to keep doing what you do. You can use my letter for whatever you choose, but please don't use my name.

Thanks, thanks, thanks!"

Need help controlling portion sizes for snacks? Our Yum Yum Dishes make it easy--just fill the dish and when you get to the bottom, it tells you that “Yum Yum time is over!”

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