— M.M.

A. While I have found videos for much younger kids, and a couple for teenagers, I haven't seen many for children that age. One possibility, though, is Tae Bo Junior with Billy Blanks ($34.95 including an instruction tape, or $24.95 without it; 800-433-6769).

I'd also suggest considering other routes, since if she hasn't taken to sports and doesn't like jogging, I'm not confident she'd like exercising to a video. Perhaps some other after-school activity, such as a martial art? Or dance? If she likes to swim, could she join a team? Parks departments and community centers might have other options.

Do you yourselves exercise consistently, and could you get her involved? Or, could you take up something as a family — bicycling, hiking, roller or ice skating?

Q. Can you tell me where to buy one of those workout bands?

— D.P.

A. Sold under the names Thera-Band, Dyna-Band, FlexBand and others, those flat, stretchy latex strips are carried by most sporting-goods stores — Athletic Supply, Omni Fitness, The Sports Authority, Gart Sports, Big 5 — and by some discount stores (Target, K-Mart) as well. Kari Anderson's "Tone It Up" is one exercise video that uses and comes with a Dyna-Band ($14.95; 800-433-6769). By the way, common surgical tubing carried by hospital-supply stores also can be used for most strength-training exercises that call for those bands.

Catching up on some reader input:

* M.L. was one of several with this quick tip for the person annoyed by the seam in socks: Turn them inside out. "It is amazing how comfortable they can be that way!"

* And several folks commented on L.M.'s request for restaurants for her 90-year-old friend on a low-sodium diet:

From experience with her father in his 90s, N.R. (and L.K.) suggested smorgasbords such as Old Country Buffet. "We went though the line together, and I would tell him which choices he could pick from, basically avoiding cured meats, soups, sauces, batter-coated items and gravies. We could bring our own salad dressing to add at the table." For a fast-food fix, she said, request the McDonald's nutrition pamphlet to see, for example, that a hamburger has 590 milligrams of sodium and a Filet-O-Fish 890, or that the plain honey sauce has no sodium, honey-mustard 85 mg and hot mustard 240 mg per package. (That information can also be downloaded from www.mcdonalds.com), N.R. also liked Spice Hunter salt-free seasonings: "The most complete stock I've found is at Larry's Markets." (I've also seen a good selection at Whole Foods.)

F.A. recommended Moon Temple Restaurant in Wallingford for its small, no-salt, no-oil, no-sugar menu. "It's steamed vegetables with shrimp, chicken, scallops or a combination plus brown or white rice, served with a plum sauce. I cannot detect any salt, oil or sugar, and the natural flavors satisfy without them."

C.D. said the trick is asking for "heart-healthy" menu selections, which she's seen at Circo Circo, Azteca and Shanghai Gardens (in Issaquah). Many vegetarian dishes also are low in salt, she adds: "Think of Rover's vegetarian tasting menu as the primo example." However, "The only way to be sure that 90-year-old person gets exactly what s/he needs is for L.M. to cook a home meal."

C.J.F. concurred. "Just asking a chef in a restaurant to cook a menu item without additional salt is not going to provide a salt-free or even low-salt food item, as the very ingredients will be salty before the preparation begins," she said. For someone in frail health, "I would caution against even trying a restaurant meal, as it could have very serious results for the guest." In her endeavors to keep an ultra-low-sodium diet for her husband, C.J.F. concluded, "I had to scrupulously cook everything truly from scratch." But she was grateful for Safeway's salt-free Lucerne cottage cheese and low-sodium Swiss cheese, Tim's no-salt potato chips and Trader Joe's no-salt tortilla chips.

Molly Martin is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. She can be reached at 206-464-8243, mmartin@seattletimes.com or P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.

More On Fitness columns