This weekend is the prom at Darling Daughter's school. She tells me that most of the junior girls are doing Master Cleanse this week. There used to be a lot of people on the Forum who advocated Master Cleanse. I've never tried it, and I don't plan to. However I'm not going to denigrate it for people who have thoughtfully researched it and use it for a brief time as a part of a long term commitment to improving their health.

However what these high school girls are doing is silly and potentially dangerous. DD says that they started it this week in order to lose weight quickly so they will fit into their prom dresses. "I've lost 11 pounds," exclaimed one girl. DD said to me, "She's kidding herself. She hasn't lost any fat; it's just water weight. She will put it all back on when she eats the big meal that's planned for the night of the prom."

All of the girls are complaining that they feel terrible and are weak. This is not good when they have tests this week that demand concentration.

I know these girls, and like them. I talked with them about dieting when they were freshmen as part of their health class. It's not that they don't know what it would take to have better figures. It's that they do not want to give up their favorite foods, all of which promote weight gain now and which will cause them health problems later in life.

Throughout the year, DD attracts a certain amount of attention with the unusual nature of her BTD lunches. "DD, why do you eat so healthy?" is a common question. The answer should be apparent this week as DD continues to eat in her normal manner, confident that she will look lovely in her prom dress.

Though these high school girls are not interested in changing their life styles to have permanently better health, they do want to look like fashion models for the prom. They are willing to starve themselves for a week to reach that short term goal. It makes me sad that their priorities and their discipline are so misplaced.