DR. WALLACE: I'm trying to lose weight fast. My boyfriend says I should exercise vigorously in a rubber sweat suit and the extra weight will melt almost immediately. He should know. He's a wrestler and that's the way he loses pounds to get down to his wrestling weight. But my uncle told me that losing weight with the help of a rubber sweat suit is very dangerous. Is it? — Lynn, St. Paul, Minn.

LYNN: Listen to your uncle, not your boyfriend. Although many high school and college wrestlers do use rubber sweat suits to lose weight before a match, doing so can be dangerous. The body is robbed of its ability to cool itself when it overheats. In any case, your weight loss using such a method would be very short-term, because the loss is water, not fat; once you quenched your thirst, you'd be back where you started.

Your only choice is to lose weight the old-fashioned way: Eat properly (count calories) and exercise regularly.

YOU ARE FREE TO LEAVE HOME

DR. WALLACE: If I'm 18 and graduated high school, can I move out of my parents' house without their permission? I'd like to move in with my grandparents because our home is completely dysfunctional. My father is physically abusive to my mother and me and my mother has a severe drinking problem and won't get any help.

My dad said he'd consider me a runaway if I went to my grandparents' house and he'd have them arrested for hiding a runaway. I don't think he can do this, but he has my grandparents worried. They're very nice people who want to help me, but they don't want to get me or them in trouble. What's the law on this? — Lucy, Tulsa, Okla.

LUCY: After you turn 18, you are free to leave your parents' house without their permission. I'd advise you to move in with your grandparents as soon as you can.

HE'S TOO OLD FOR YOU

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old girl who needs your advice. My parents are good friends with another couple. They have a son who is 25. He is cute, nice, funny and he doesn't have a girlfriend. Whenever we visit their house, he always looks at me and smiles. I'm very shy so I haven't encouraged him, but deep down I'd like to get to know him better. How should I let him know that I'm "available"? — Nameless, Memphis, Tenn.

NAMELESS: This guy is too old for you. Don't encourage him because he probably is aware that the age difference between the two of you is overwhelming. If he isn't, he has a big problem, and you don't want to be a part of it.

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 [email protected]. 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.