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SATURDAY, Oct. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Could a novel with an embedded message about good health help overweight girls develop the motivation to lose a few pounds? New research suggests that it just might, but the results weren't dramatic.
Duke University researchers found that obese girls who read a book featuring a weight-management storyline were slightly more likely to control their weight than two comparison groups.
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The research is the first "to show a relationship between reading and making positive, healthy lifestyle changes," said study author Alexandra C. Russell, a fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine.
The findings were expected to be presented Oct. 4 at the Obesity Society's annual meeting, in Phoenix.
According to federal statistics, 16 percent of American children ages 6 to 19 are either obese or overweight.
"Childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic problem in this country," Russell said. "We need to find ways to appeal to a large population in an effective way."
In the study, the researchers assigned 31 severely overweight girls in a weight-management program to read a book called Lake Rescue, part of a series called Beacon Street Girls. The girls were all aged 9 to 13.
The book deals with an overweight girl who worries about going on an outdoor school trip. She ends up making friends, improving her self-esteem and learning about appropriate levels of physical activity, Russell said.
"Kids really enjoyed the book, I think, because the message doesn't hit them over the head," Russell said. "Because there are so many female characters, I think every girl reading it has someone to identify with if they didn't identify with the overweight character. We got only positive feedback."
Another 33 girls in the weight-management program read another book that had no storyline about being overweight; instead it told the story of a girl who searches for a missing cat in Paris. A third group of 17 girls in the weight-management program wasn't assigned to read any books, Russell said.
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