Reading a novel can help obese children to lose weight
By Daily Mail Reporter

Reading books can help children lose weight, scientists have discovered.
In a study of 45 girls, those who read a book which promoted exercise and a healthy lifestyle saw their body mass index drop.

Researchers at North Carolina's Duke Children's Hospital in America gave 31 obese girls, aged between 9 and 13, a novel called Lake Rescue which has an overweight girl in it.

Reading a book that promoted exercise had a positive impact on overweight girls
They discovered that six months later the girls who read the book had a reduced BMI of almost one per cent.
A control group of 14 girls who were not given the book had an increased BMI of 0.5 per cent.
Sarah Armstrong, from Duke Children's Hospital, said: "As a pediatrician, I can't count the number of times I tell parents to buy a book that might provide useful advice, yet I've never been able to point to research to back up my recommendations.