DR. WALLACE: I'm 14 and live with my parents and an older brother and sister. I love them all very much, but I'm bothered by their weight. All of us are overweight because, as a family, we don't have really good eating habits. Ever since I can remember, our family has been eating tons of foods loaded with lots of fats and calories. For almost every dinner we eat mashed potatoes loaded with milk and butter and topped with gravy. It tastes good, but I know it has a lot of calories. I'd guess my dad is 100 pounds overweight, my mom, 75 pounds overweight, and my 15-year-old brother is called "Lardo" by the kids at school. (You get the picture.) I'm the skinny one and I'm only about 20 pounds overweight.

My mom says that teens should never be concerned with what they eat because we burn up lots of calories as we grow. I don't think this is true. That's why I'm writing to you, and I hope you can give me some helpful advice. — Nameless, Lake Charles, La.

NAMELESS: It's never wrong to eat properly and start living smart, and this means all members of your family. I recommend a wonderful booklet put out by The American Cancer Society called (what else?) "Living Smart." It offers guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for good health and cancer prevention. Please have each member of your family take this quiz by answering the simple yes or no questions to find out how each family member rates:

1. I eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits every day.

2. I eat at least six servings of bread, rice, pasta and cereal every day.

3. I drink reduced-fat or fat-free milk and yogurt and seldom eat high-fat cheese.

4. I rarely eat high-fat meat like bacon, hot dogs, sausage, steak or ground beef.

5. I take it easy on high-fat baked goods such as pies, cakes, cookies, and donuts.

6. I rarely add butter, margarine, oil, sour cream, or mayonnaise to foods when I'm cooking or at the table.

7. I rarely (less than twice a week) eat fried foods.

8. I try to maintain a healthy weight.

9. I am physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week.

10. I usually take the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator.

11. I try to spend most of my free time being active, instead of watching television or sitting at the computer.

12. I never drink alcohol.

How do you rate? Zero to four YES answers: Diet Alert! Your diet is probably too high in fat and too low in vegetables, fruits and grains. You would do well to take a close look at your eating habits and make some changes.

Four to eight YES answers: Not bad! You're halfway there, but still have a way to go. Look at your NO answers to help you decide which areas of your diet need to be improved, or whether your physical activity level should be increased.

Nine to twelve YES answers: Good for you - you're living smart! Keep up the good habits and keep looking for ways to improve. Somehow I don't believe your family members have reached this level quite yet.

Please obtain a free copy of "Living Smart" by calling toll-free 1-800-227-2345. All families should have this excellent booklet.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Alan Levine