I have a 9 year old daughter who is overweight and has gained probably a good 25 pounds in the last 6 months. We had tried the Weight Watchers approach but she does not want to have to write everything down and does not want to have to keep points. I myself am overweight and dealing with my own issues about weight. Unfortunately I haven't been a great role model and have been hard on her. I wanted to know if anyone knows of any weight loss groups for kids that I could take her to. Any leads would be great. Thanks Obesity

Though your child may need to lose weight (25 lbs is a lot of extra weight for a 9-year-old) increased activity and unlimited access to healthy foods is probably better than a counting calories approach.

There is lots of evidence linking TV watching with obesity in children. I read a study not long ago where they took a group of overweight kids and asked half to limit their television viewing/computer time to one hour/day. The group that cut down on TV lost weight.

Some parents have a ''if its light, you're outside'' policy, that keeps kids running around outside instead of sitting inside. Make outside fun: Make an obstacle course in your yard and run through it together. If you live in an apartment you can try these things: Put up a piece of string to jump over. Raise it a little every day, and practice jumping over it every day. Go for a walk together. Get your child to walk fast or keep her going when she complains with inventive stories. Our favorites: we are fleeing a dragon (find things along the way to fight the dragon with --- ivy that puts dragons to sleep, etc), (if it is hot and feet are dragging) we are lost in a desert and we must make it to a distant caravan before it departs (or oasis) and we die of thirst. Be sure to encounter lots of scorpions, poisonous puddles of water, skulls, sidewinder snakes, along the way. Maybe 9 is too old for this, but it works great for 2-6! Worth a try anyway. Your 9-year-old may enjoy writing down the adventures with your help and illustrating them when you get home.

Enroll your child in an organized sport. Regular exercise will make a huge difference. If your child is embarrassed, or doesn't want to participate in a competitive sport why not rollerblade or bike ride together OR, enroll your child in swim lessons. Enroll your child in an outdoor summer camp for a week or two. Go to nature walks in the parks with a ranger and learn about wildlife while you get some exercize. Take up backyard birdwatching. There is a great device called the ''identiflyer'' you carry it around and see if any birds you hear match the birds on the identiflyer, so you can learn to identify birds by their call.

Don't buy any junk food. No fat-free cookies. No soda, no juice except citrus juice (most juices are mostly sugar, with little nutritional value. Citrus juices are an exception). No ''nutrition'' bars (calories are very concentrated). No sugared cereal. Children, like adults, will overeat junk food, but will refuse an apple, strawberries, piece of ham or turkey, cube of cheese, glass of milk, boiled egg if they are really not hungry. I think it is much easier to be disciplined at the grocery store than at home. Do allow occasional, reasonably-portioned treats.

Diets can have a negative effect on girls' self-esteem and set them up for a life-long habit of unsuccessful dieting. On the other hand, an active lifestyle and healthy eating we very much hope to make life-long habits, so I recommend you focus on those!

If your child doesn't like to exercise, incentivize with non-food rewards. Make a chart, have your child earn the rewards and make sure the rewards are on-hand for immediate delivery. Rewards that ''we'll go out and buy as soon as you do whatever'' are too abstract (the kids don't trust you for one thing) and not nearly as motivating as the object on the shelf that they could have if only they did what they need to. I have a stack of drawers filled with ready rewards from the dollar store and they are HUGELY motivating. I put small rewards in the top drawer labelled one (for one piano practice) and then increasingly nice and tantalizing rewards in drawers labelled 2, 3 and 4. You could even see if your child wanted to work toward something really big (I have a friend whose 9-yr-old child gave up candy for A YEAR in order to get a Nintendo 64!). Such a reward system not only motivates your child to do whatever it is you want her to do and she is reluctant to do, but also teaches your child the value of saving and delaying gratification (you can reward yourself immediately with a gel pen, or save your credits and get a set of watercolor paints or a Nintendo 64!) which are important life skills.

Good luck!

# In analyzing the data from a national survey between 1988 and 1994, researchers found that the 26% of children who watched four or more hours of television a day had significantly more body fat than those who watched less television. The more time children spent watching television, the greater their weight increase (Andersen, 1998).

# Another study found that 60% of the overweight in children, ages 10-15, may be due to excessive television viewing (Gortmacher, 1996). susan

Be kind to yourself and your daughter; there are also resources available on size acceptance, as our culture is very unaccepting of larger sizes. Joanne Ikeda who works with EFNEP is a leader on this issue. EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) has an office at UC Berkeley, I believe. I hope this is enough info to get you started on your search. Good luck. Dietetian