Mom thinks fat is all that: Help a sister out

Dear Carolyn: My youngest sister is 14. She recently spent 10 days at my house visiting, and we had a wonderful time. She is a little overweight and concerned about how to fix it, so I spent this week teaching her how to work out, get active and make healthier food choices. She is enthusiastic about getting healthy when she gets home but is concerned about my mom.

Our whole family is overweight except for me. There is history of heart attacks, blood clots, diabetes and other health issues. My sister and I desperately want to avoid these. My mother refuses to buy healthy food, thinks working out is manly and women shouldn’t have muscles or “be skinny” — which is not what I’m advocating — and that taking care of your body is sinful and making it an idol.

I don’t live at home and am able to buy my own groceries and work out. My sister obviously doesn’t have that ability yet. How do I make my mom see the real risks in fighting my sister’s attempts to get healthy? I don’t want my sister to have a poor body image and hate herself like I did.