Dara-Lynn Weiss’ “The Heavy”: Mother Puts 7 Year-Old On Diet

Chubby Child washes chocolate down with soda. DIET soda.

Reporting Bryan

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Children, Dara-Lynn Weiss, Diet, Obesity, Vogue, Weight Loss

Last year, Dara-Lynn Weiss made headlines after her article in Vogue was read by millions.

In the story, Dara-Lynn explains how she felt the need to put her then 7-year-old daughter Bea on a diet. That might seem strange, off putting even. How could a mother put their young child on a diet? Wouldn’t that cause self-esteem issues for a kid whose body is still growing? Is using the term “diet” a good idea for someone so impressionable?

This morning on Ty Loves NY, Dara-Lynn called in to talk about her new book “The Heavy,” where she defended her reasoning behind Bea’s diet.

Deciding to put your young child on a weight loss program is a tough decision. How fat is “fat” for someone who is still growing? Standing at 4’4″ and weighing 93 pounds, Dara-Lynn knew her then 7-year-old daughter Bea was needing to lose weight. She started a strict-regimine of “no Pizza Fridays at school, and no whipped cream on hot chocolate” to help kick start the weight loss.

Press photos of Dara-Lynn Weiss and her new book "The Heavy" (photo credits: Juliana Sohn/Random House)

Dara-Lynn Weiss – “The Heavy” (Juliana Sohn/Random House)

In her new book “The Heavy”, Dara-Lynn talks all about her health plan for Bea, and about the fact on how she had to make that decision to eventually go forward with the plan. In fact Dara-Lynn called the book “The Heavy”, because “that is the role parents have to play so often. They do the unpopular thing that people judge and criticize, because that is the right thing for their child.”

To put a 7 year-old on a diet, every person has a different reaction. Should you use the term “diet”? Would that affect a young child’s self-esteem? We took to the phones to take listener’s opinions on child dieting.

Jen, a mother of a ten year-old, put her son on a diet:

You think putting a seven or ten year old on a diet is bad? How about putting a 6-month-old on a health plan!?

Childhood obesity is on the rise. By providing kids with healthy food options and instead of spending time on the couch and more time doing recreational activities, children can lose weight in fun ways.

Make sure you grab Dara-Lynn Weiss’ book “The Heavy” from Amazon.com, your local Barnes And Noble or wherever books are sold!

–Bryan Carstensen, 92.3 NOW