To Steer Her Child Away From Obesity, A Mother Turns Her Life Upside Down

Using a tip she learned in the BodyWorks program the day before, Irie cuts and adds strawberries to a salad; Irie and her father work on homework; the 7-year-old jumps rope after dinner. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Irie Mazas’ hands hovered over the boxes of bright red strawberries at the Adams& Vermont Farmers Market in Los Angeles.

“Mami!” the 7-year-old called to Miriam Bautista, who was several steps behind.

“How much?” Bautista asked the stall vendor in Spanish. Before the strawberries made it into a shopping bag, Irie was chomping on one, juice dripping onto her shirt.

Her mother frowned at the stain. Then she smiled.

A few months ago, Bautista worried she’d never get her daughter to eat healthy food. Noticeably overweight since about age 4, she’d devour salty snacks, fast food and candy but cry if her mom put so much as a carrot on her dinner plate.

Read the full article at Los Angeles Times.