This is an important message to all you teens who have heard about the new weight-loss pill "Alli" (pronounced: al-eye).  This is NOT the diet miracle the world has been waiting for.  First of all, Alli is only for overweight adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Alli's manufacturer both say that anyone younger than 18 should not use Alli. That's because the drug has not yet been tested in teens. So experts don't know if it could interfere with the way a teen's body grows and develops, or if it might cause other health problems.  Alli works by preventing a person's body from absorbing some of the fat that's in food. That may sound like a like a really good thing — after all, when fat calories are not absorbed, there's no chance they can be stored in the body as extra pounds. But not getting enough fat could interfere with normal growth and development in both girls and guys. Fat also helps the body absorb and process many of the vitamins we need for good health.  Additionally, some potentially very unpleasant (and embarrassing) side effects go with taking Alli----the company diplomatically calls these "treatment effects". All that undigested fat has to go somewhere, and the only way for it to leave the body is as an oily discharge through the anus.  This means the following things could happen to someone taking the drug:

• gas (farting) with oily discharge that can leak out and stain clothing
• more frequent — or even uncontrollable — bowel movements
• looser, oilier bowel movements

Alli can also cause problems for people who have certain health conditions, such as diabetes, thyroid disease, gallbladder problems, or kidney stones.
Although Alli is approved as safe and effective for adults, it's no quick fix. For one thing, just like dieting, it takes time to lose weight with Alli. People who take the drug don't see instant results.  Taking Alli requires as much discipline and willpower as sticking to a diet: People using it have to keep careful track of the amount of fat they eat at each meal to be sure they don't get too much. Taking Alli with meals that contain more than 15 grams of fat can worsen the side effects mentioned above (15 grams is about the amount of fat in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or one chocolate bar). So Alli is not a free pass to eat more fatty foods without gaining weight.
The bottom line is this:  Learn at a young age there are no quick fixes to anything----to getting into a great college, to getting a law degree, to getting your first job, or to losing weight.   You have to learn lessons along the way to getting what you want, and you have to practice what you’ve learned for the rest of your life to keep what you’ve worked hard to earn.

Parents, here’s a tasty and creative way to review fractions with your children.   You’ll need (1) a book about fractions; (2) a pizza or tortilla; (3) a knife to cut the food (optional); (4) food toppings (optional).   Read a book about fractions; there are many, but 2 good ones are Eating Fractions, by Bruce McMillan, and Fraction Action by Loreen Leedy.  Then … take a tortilla and have your child show you one-quarter, one half and three-quarters either by breaking it apart of cutting or decorating the fraction amount with toppings.  For example, you could have your child add pizza sauce to one-quarter, then half, then three-quarters, then the whole pizza.  Then, have your child add fractional amounts of cheese and other toppings.

that you can make for your kids… and they’ll have fun helping you.   Preheat oven to 150E.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick coating.   Mix 2 cups of unsweetened applesauce with 1 TBS of honey and 1 TSP of cinnamon.  Spread the mixture in a thin layer onto the cookie sheet.  Leave the oven door open a bit and cook for 6 to 8 hours until dried.   Then, cut into thin strips that you can roll up.  (2 = 1 FR)

by Marilyn Sachs.   Jeff, a high school senior, becomes obsessed with creating a new, beautiful, person out of an unhappy fat girl, but when she begins to think independently, he loses control of the situation.   

For ages 4 to 8, I Get So Hungry, by Bebe More Campbell, is a wonderful book.  Once Nikki starts eating, it's hard for her to stop. She snacks when she is upset, angry or bored. But when her teacher, Mrs. Patterson, is taken to the hospital because of her weight, Nikki realizes that she wants to live a healthier lifestyle. She and Mrs. Patterson work together to help each other succeed, and Nikki even convinces her mom to get involved and exercise too.

This winner of 13 state "children's favorite" awards, Nothing’s Fair in Fifth Grade, by Barthe DeClements,  teaches about accepting people for who they are and not judging a book by its cover.   Great fun for the 8-12 crowd.

Here's a fun book to read to or with your 4 to 8‑year old.   In A Piece of Cake, by Jill Murphy, Mama Elephant puts the family on a diet, and their will power remains strong until Grammy sends a cake. With the jogging before breakfast and the jogging after school there isn't much time to think about food, so the Elephant family is sure to lose weight, right?