Does the link between reading and losing weight ring you a bell? Of course it doesn’t! I bet you haven’t heard there is actually a connection between those two.

As revealed by a new study, the first of its kind, a book including certain healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance can be successful in helping obese kids shed the extra pounds.

For the study, the Duke University researchers recruited 31 obese girls between 9 to 13 years of age, who had already signed up in the Healthy Lifestyles Program at Duke Children's Hospital, a comprehensive weight loss plan. They were told to read a Lake Rescue, an age-appropriate novel age whose main character is a plump girl who is unhappy as a consequence of her size.

Other 33 girls were given Charlotte in Paris, a novel for preteens whose protagonist isn’t overweight, and other 17 girls read neither book, said researchers, led by Alexandra C. Russell, MD, a fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine.

Half a year later, the BMI (body mass index) scores of the group of girls who read Lake Rescue was found diminished by 71 percent.

As a final point, it seems that "the book helped," said Russell. "It either helped them [the girls] stay at the same weight while they were growing or even helped them lose their weight."

16 percent of U.S. children between 6 to 19 years of age are either overweight or obese, federal statistics showed.