More than 15% of French children are overweight; in some countries the percentage is even higher. Being overweight makes many of these children feel unhappy, and it also puts their future health at risk.

Doctor Vincent Boggio has developed a radical new approach to the problem. His method is based on three simple rules:

• Walk for 30 minutes every day.

• Never eat between meals.

• Never have a second helping.

If children follow these simple rules, they need not be deprived of any type of food. As a result, they will shed the excess weight steadily and without feeling frustrated or miserable. But they need their parents' help and support.

This method is the fruit of twenty-five years' experience working with overweight children.

When traditional diets and sports activities have failed to make a child lose weight, the only alternative is the behavioural approach, as proposed by Doctor Vincent Boggio.

Each rule given here is fully explained and justified: Why does it work? Why 30 minutes? Why no snacking between meals?

How can parents help their child to follow these rules and to stay motivated? The explanations given here are primarily aimed at the child, but the book also provides practical advice for parents.

Also included here are a number of tips to help children stick to their diet: How to keep from snacking? How to make sure you don't have seconds? Can exceptions occasionally be mad? Doctor Vincent Boggio is the author of Que faire? Mon enfant est trop gros (2002). A paediatrician and nutritionist, he works at the teaching hospital of the University of Dijon.