Author remembers time spent at fat camp

Author Stephanie Klein spent five summers of her childhood in fat camp, and lived to tell about it. Now she's sharing her story in her new book Moose (which was her unfortunate childhood nickname). Besides being written with Klein's trademark sence of humor, Moose also opens up the door for an honest discussion on how, exactly, to help kids who are suffering from obesity. Obviously, Klein is not recommending her own personal, sometimes humiliating experience.

Instead, she has these tips for families:

• Be a good role model
• Don't keep junk in the house
• Be active as a family, everyone together
• Focus on health, not on appearances
• Teach portion control

One piece of weight-loss advice Klein had surprised me, but I think I like it. She says that she got tired of "fatnalysis," or trying to figure out why she was overweight. Instead, she focused on how to fix it and creating healthier daily habits to reach her goal. Moose hits stores later this month. For more reading, find Stephanie Klein at her blog.