My nine-year-old daughter, who is overweight and becoming self conscious, lives with her father three days a week. I feed her healthy meals on her days with me, but he refuses to give her healthy options. What do I do to help empower and teach her the proper choices?

This is definitely a difficult situation. Studies show that children tend to model parents behaviors. Continue to serve nutritious foods when she is with you, but teach and empower her to make healthy decisions on her own. Also, make sure she is very active in after-school sports or activities. It will help with weight loss without focusing so much on food. You may want to suggest this to her father as well. If he isn't going to change what he is feeding her, maybe he can be active with her.

This week's question answered by:
Rachel Brandeis MS, RD