Afraid to Eat: Children and Teens in Weight Crisis

Two important guides to weight and eating are presented in these excellent surveys by Frances Berg. Children And Teens Afraid To Eat (0-918532-55-8, ...) examines six major eating and weight problems, from undernutrition of teens to eating disorders and obesity, blending statistics with a survey of underlying social causes and the actions which need to be taken to help teens. Women Afraid To Eat (62-0, ....) documents the physical and psychological harm done by social images which focus on the detriments of eating. From fad diets to weight prejudices, this tells women how to break free of weight obsession.

Without a doubt, this book should be reading material for all parents before their first child is born. We want to think our youth are active and healthy. During my years of teaching, I have been more and more disturbed at inactivity of our children, disruption of normal eating, and the amount of fat and sugar calories served in school lunch rooms. The food the children who carry their lunch bring from home can be nourishing, but parents might be surprised if they watch their children eat. A child's lunch sack might have a good turkey sandwich with greens, two large cookies, a bar of candy, and a soft drink. The child almost always has the candy ond/or cookies at recess. When lunchtime comes, he often throws that good sandwich in the trash with the apple. The food he brought from home has now become two cookies, candy, and a soft drink.During recess too many children are inactive. Day after day, we watched the same ones stand around talking all recess while they eat their candy or cookies. After observing this for a few years, we scheduled a quarter-mile run twice a week and a full mile on Friday for P. E. Also, three times a week we have exercises appropriate to the age groups. You'd be surprised how many look forward to all the activity once they get used to it. We think it also stimulates brain activity in the classroom.On the other hand, there are the healthy, active children who might have a cookie at recess, then play hard. They eat their sandwich and apple at lunch and the cookies and are eaten or saved for after school. In these children's lunch boxes there is porbably no candy. What's happening here? Berg says studies show that parents that don't "bug" their children about eating, produce children who don't have hang-ups about eating.Berg writes that research shows that family attitudes can play a big part in the future eating patterns of their children. When a healthy baby's hunger is satisfied, it will then stop drinking. Parents who "urge him to finish the bottle, disguise cereal with applesauce to get it down" and thus feel frustrated for fear the baby isn't eating enough, is teaching the infant that it's important to eat more than his body needs. All parents should read carefully and think about what Berg has to say.A parent who "hesitates to let a chubby toddler have seconds, makes a preschooler stay at the table until she finishes her peas, insists that the child eat `two bites of each food,' or lectures a school-age child to get him to drink his milk...is overmanaging, and it teaches children to ignore their natural signals of hunger and satiety." By allowing a child to listen and heed these natural signals, Berg tells us that this is an important way to begin the youngster on a lifetime of healthy eating patterns.Americans serve too large portions. A friend of mine returned from a long vacation in England and remarked that she didn't see an overweight English person all the time she was there. I said I was surprised, I always th

To be overweight is to fail" . It sums up our society's attitude towards eating and body size today. This is a quote from 'AFRAID TO EAT: Children and Teens in Weight Crisis' by Frances M. Berg. While the book is a cultural commentary, it is also filled with practical advice on ways to prevent eating disorders, obesity, and dysfunctional eating.The first step to help, is to help understand the roots of the problem. This book does that. It points out the many ways in which we are not nurturing our children, particularly our girls. We are a society that has become fatter and fatter, yet simultaneously bombards our kids with the message that they need to achieve a body size and shape that is biologically unsustainable for the majority of them. This may be the seed for eating disorders. How high levels of obesity and disordered eating and starving teens can coexist is explained. AFRAID TO EAT explores the many forces at play....cultural expectations, media, the role of family and athletics, peer pressure, and more. It explores the issue of size rejudice and lifestyle choices, both of which lead to eating disorders and obesity.The second half of the book focuses on how to prevent eating disorders, how to make changes to promote normal eating where it doesn't exist, and how to intervene with childhood obesity. There are guidelines for healthy food choices, designs for new health approaches for families, how to include schools in prevention programs, and finally a call to action that challenges us to make changes in attitude (e.g. a greater appreciation for healthy lifestyles versus being thin), lifestyle (e.g. active living, improving phys ed programs in school), prevention (e.g. by promoting healthy attitudes and lifestyles and developing special prevention programs for schools and communities), health care (e.g. reduce size prejudice in health care, focus on improving health, not on ineffective weight loss) and knowledge ( e.g. improved communication to consumers, better education in medical school).There is useful information in this book not only for a parent, but also for teachers and health care workers. Perhaps after reading it you can share it with your school nurse or phys ed teacher. I am sure you will find its approach not only informative but practical and useful. The word 'vitality' is used a lot in this book as it helps us focus eating away from dieting and size/shape obsession towards eating that promotes a healthy and 'vital' lifestyle. I work as a professional nutritionist and see firsthand the consequences of the fear of eating. This book takes a big stab at addressing the revolutionary changes that need to be made in our personal and societal approaches towards eating. I recommend it to any who want to join in that revolution, or simply wish to help their own kids enjoy nutritious, guilt free eating for life.