Cook's Weighty Battle

22 October 2010
Rachael Leigh Cook

Picture: Rachael Leigh Cook walking on Robertson Blvd with a friend and her cat in and a cat carrier Los Angeles, California - 10.09.10

Cook's Weighty Battle

Actress Rachael Leigh Cook battled "food issues" as a teenager after she gained weight on the set of her first movie and lost confidence in her looks.

The She's All That star made her big screen debut at the age of 15 in 1995's The Babysitter's Club, and Cook admits she over-indulged in the free food on set.

The 31 year old reveals her self-esteem reached an all-time low when her weight ballooned and she "went too far in the other direction" as she strived to slim down.

She tells Fox News, "I remember gaining quite a bit of weight on the first movie that I worked on because, 'Hey, free food!'. You're at that stage where your body is just changing so actively, so it was a natural change, but I remember finishing that film and realising that I had gained probably 10 pounds over the course of filming which is a lot when you're only 5ft 2in.

"I knew then that I needed to go and really try and get healthy. I went too far in the other direction and I worried my parents for a while, I think it's fair to say. I think that it's something that many, many teenage girls go through, especially ones that are achievers and ambitious. You're looking for a sense of control, and when you're in a really transitional phase in your teenage years, I think it's a pretty normal reaction to develop food issues."


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