need some help here. I have three neices, the oldest is 11 and the twins are 9. The oldest girl and one of the twins weigh around 140 each. The smaller twin is more active, but at meal times forces herself to eat just as much as the other two. At their last doc visit, the doc stated that the two heavier kids did not need to gain another pound during the next two years. Their mother is typically heavy but has lost weight recently. The girls will be spending the summer with my brother and he wants to work with them to lose weight, get more active and teach them how to make better food choices. I referred him to the library and local bookstores for books on nutrition and exercise for kids. Any additional suggestions from the gang would be greatly appreciated.

May I direct you to the oft-quoted Krista Scott Dixon???

She has an *excellent* article on weight training for the younger set here:

http://www.stumptuous.com/younguns.html

As for eating correctly...I don't have kids myself as you know...but I think a start would be to clean out the junque food from the house...save it for an occasional treat.

my brother is the funniest guy. He is 37 yrs old and FINALLY can fit into a size 32 pants. He had been a 28 for years. He eats once a day and lives on coffee. He shoots basketball about 4 days a week. For him, it is more a matter of STOCKING the fridge as opposed to cleaning it out. I will definitely send that link to him.

Mrs. Jim - thanks for posting that link. I have visited that site so many times, and I've never seen that. It gave me a lot of reassurance that I was doing the right thing by getting my daughter into weightlifting. We're not pushing very hard, working mostly on form and getting her body used to the idea. But so many sites I visit insist that weightlifting for younger people (especially girls!) is something that should be avoided. The simple fact is that my daughter has the perfect body for weightlifting, and as long as we're safe and careful, I couldn't understand why it was wrong. That article made me feel like I was doing the right thing. Thanks so much!