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Dieting book for six-year-olds: Is this too much?

A book encouraging young children to lose weight will be released in the US later this year.

‘Maggie Goes on a Diet’, by Paul Kramer, tells a story of a 14-year-old overweight girl who - according to the blurb - “is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star”.

The book will go on sale from October and on the US bookstore Barnes & Noble site is listed under the age range of six to 12-year-olds.

Even without seeing the text, there is a cause for concern over the disturbing cover image.

Maggie is shown as a chubby girl looking into the mirror. Staring back is a slimmer version of herself, holding up a tiny pink dress.

Susan Ringwood, Chief Executive of eating disorder organisation Beat, told Yahoo! UK: “We know that concerns about weight, size and shape are beginning to affect children at ever younger ages. Six and seven-year-olds already believe that your size tells the world what sort of person you are, and that big equals fat equals unpopular."

“Diets don’t directly lead to eating disorders, but low self-esteem caused by body images issues raises the risk significantly.”

[See also: Parents fury at 10-year-old supermodel]


Our resident nutritionist Rachael Anne Hill added: “It is far better to steer children towards healthy eating habits by limiting their access to fatty, sugary, processed food and drinks and promoting healthier alternatives.  This, alongside an active lifestyle will allow a child to naturally attain a healthier body weight as they grow.”

Aloha Publishers LLC, pitch the book on their website as an inspirational tale for children.

They add: “Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.”

We suspect Kramer and the publishers had the best intentions for the book, which could be a new way for American parents to tackle childhood obesity.

But with the increasing number of children being treated for eating disorders in the UK, it’s unclear whether the book will end up on the bookshelves here.

Susan Ringwood at Beat said: “Adolescence worries come soon enough, without introducing them to six-year-olds.”

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