Should "Maggie" Go on a Diet?

I was rummaging through some old articles on health and pediatrics, and I stumbled upon this article. It's over a year old, but I think that it still raises some interesting questions about the societal responsibility we have in combating childhood obesity. The book is entitled Maggie Goes on a Diet and features a picture of a portly little girl looking into a mirror with a thinner version of herself looking back.

The book - aimed at children ages 4-8 - goes on to describe he measures that Maggie takes to try and lose weight, but also describes the experience that she has after she's lost it. The book says that she is "healthier" and "proud of herself" after she successfully loses the weight. Both of these facts would be relatively uncontested of someone who recently underwent a beneficial physical transformation - but the book goes on to suggest that "more people began to know her name" and that Maggie was "happier" with her new self. The book even says that since Maggie is now able to participate in sports, she is "popular" - something every young child wants to be.

But is the books young audience just, well, too young to be considering this material? No doubt, childhood obesity is a serious problem, and one that doesn't seem to be getting any better soft drinks and fast-food meals are becoming traditions in our day-to-day activities. But is this kind of literature a way to compromise the self-esteem of our children early in adolescence? Is it malicious for a book like this to appeal to a child's newly-budding sense of societal worth in an effort to scare them into fitness and health? Could it be possible that we are ascribing an unnecessarily negative connotation to the word 'diet'? Do the extreme health risks associated with childhood obesity warrant this blunt method of preventing it? Can the method itself really even be considered 'blunt'?

I don't suppose I know how I feel about little Maggie. The book simply had me thinking about how we do have an obligation to the welfare of our children, but is it the at the expense of ethical child-rearing? Maybe I'm just blowing this out of proportion, but I think that "Maggie" is something that arouses a lot of questions about how we should treat our youngsters.

Photo attribution: Jer Kunz