School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-A timely account of a teen's success in losing weight and improving his health. Hidalgo-Robert describes in a conversational style how he became so heavy. Nicknamed "El Gorditio" by his family, he traces his weight issues beginning with his early childhood in El Salvador and continuing into his teen years in the United States. Hidalgo-Robert explains how relationships and environmental factors contributed to his emotional state and obesity. At age 14 and weighing 230 pounds, he was diagnosed with pre-diabetes; his doctor regarded the teen's situation as a medical emergency. He then consented to participate in the Weight Control Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, California. With a change in attitude, the help of the program's staff, new "tools," and a more supportive family environment, the teen shed pounds and changed his lifestyle. Hidalgo-Robert's "tools" for building a healthier life can also be useful to readers. In a few spots, the text reads awkwardly, but as a whole, this is an honest, emotional, and realistic personal narrative. Six pages of black-and-white captioned photographs offer a visual record of the teen's experiences. Two color photos on the cover show a striking difference between the chubby young Alberto and his new teen physique. Healthy recipes adapted or created by the author are included. A good choice for self-help reading or as a discussion book, this is a worthy motivational resource.-Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hidalgo-Robert, a 20-year-old college student and antiobesity activist, writes an earnest but rambling self-help memoir about his weight struggles. The author grew up in El Salvador, the adored first grandchild in a large family, and weighed 120 pounds by age seven. Instead of realizing the gravity of the situation, his family gave him nicknames like El Gordito and allowed him to watch hours of TV and overindulge in junk food. Hidalgo-Robert's obesity became undeniable after the family moved to San Francisco, and he suffered through diets, sneaked food, lied to others and himself, and was taunted at school. At age 13, he was categorized as prediabetic and entered the Lucile Packard Weight Program, whose methods he used to lose nearly 70 pounds. Throughout, Bert personifies "Television" and "Obesity" as adversaries and points to a lack of self-esteem (and a lack of control on his family's part) as factors that contributed to his weight gain. Recipes and healthy lifestyle tips are included. While Bert's enthusiasm is admirable, the book is overly chatty (exclamation points run rampant) and flooded with extraneous details. Ages 11-up. Agent: Leticia Gomez, Savvy Literary Services. (Apr.)? (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A disarmingly brash weight-loss memoir from the college-age creator of the Healthy Bert: No Child Left with a Big Behind Foundation. Hidalgo-Robert was dubbed "El Gordito" ("little fat boy") before he was even a year old and weighed 230 pounds at 14. The memoir opens with a lengthy indictment of not only himself for years of junk-food addiction, but also his family for being too indulgent and the pediatricians in his native El Salvador for pushing weight-loss diets. As he puts it in typically frothy style: "Read the following words carefully and engrave them on your brain: DIETS DO NOT WORK! Diets suck. Diets are unhealthy. If you want to lead a starvation-a-la-mode life, use a diet!" What does work for him is the Lucile Packard Weight Control Program, which he characterizes as focusing less on weight loss than lifestyle changes. Aside from cutting out TV ("I was screaming in my seething mind," he declaims upon learning this) those changes all seem to involve categorizing foods and limiting the intake of certain kinds, but never mind: Five years after starting, he's 69 pounds lighter. Whether or not that entitles him to claim that he's "won the battle," at least he demonstrates that the approach can lead to long-term weight loss. There's a little too much self-flagellation, but the author's age and blithely awkward prose may win points with a teen audience. (food lists, recipes, before and after photos) (Memoir. 12-18)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.