Hit the gym for a workout--but sit for hours at your computer. Supersize your value meals--but downsize your waistline. Today's media-saturated teenagers are bombarded with mixed messages that distort their self-image and lead many to overeat and others to starve themselves. When "I feel fat" becomes a teen's common refrain, how can worried parents respond constructively? With "I'm, Like, SO Fat!" Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer shows parents how to strike the difficult balance between bolstering self-esteem and offering constructive advice. Drawing on her landmark study, Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), and her experience as a mother of four, Neumark-Sztainer offers a wealth of science-based, practical ideas for instilling healthy eating and exercise habits, educating teens about nutrition and portion size, and talking about body image. Here is a rock-solid foundation that parents everywhere can build on to help their teens stay fit, eat well, and feel good about their looks in a world where too-perfect bodies are used to sell everything from cosmetic surgery to fast food. --- from the publisher Contents: I. What Are We Up Against...and How Did We Get Here, Anyway? 1. If It's Not One Thing, It's Another: Dealing with a Spectrum of Weight-Related Problems 2. Our Susceptible Teens: What We Know about Causes and Contributing Factors II. How Can We Protect Our Teens When Society Pushes Fat but Promotes Thin? 3. Parents Matter (a Lot) 4. Friends, Fashions, and Fads 5. Physical Activity: A Big Part of the Answer...in Moderation 6. The Great Diet Debate 7. The Four Cornerstones of Healthy Weight and Body Image III. What and How Much Should Teenagers Eat? 8. "I Know How to Diet...I Just Don't Know How to Eat": What Teens Need to Know about Nutrition 9. Portion Control and Calorie Counting: Teaching Teens to Pay Attention without Obsessing 10. Vegetarianism: Doing It Right--for Your Teen and Your Family IV. How Can We Make a Difference at Home...and Away? 11. Family Meals in a Fast-Food World 12. Eating Out: When Cooking Just Isn't Going to Happen 13. Fluent in the F Words: Talking with Teens about Food, Fat, and Other Touchy Topics V. What Can We Do When Problems Come Up? 14. Helping an Overweight Teen Be Healthy and Happy 15. How to Spot the Signs of an Eating Disorder and What You Can Do to Help *Resources for Parents and Teens Reviews: "The pages of this book are packed with one good idea after another. In a scientifically sound and caring way, Dr. Neumark-Sztainer addresses topics that are central to the health and happiness of all girls and boys in their teenage years." -Kelly D. Brownell, PhD, Director, Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders; author of Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It "Dr. Neumark-Sztainer is a widely published researcher, a successful prevention specialist, and a gifted teacher. She is also a mother who has learned on the job how to strike a balance between active parenting, bite-your-tongue silence, and constant support for her children. This is an incredibly wise and helpful book for anyone struggling to give kids healthy messages about food, weight, shape, and exercise." -Michael P. Levine, PhD, coeditor of Preventing Eating Disorders "Based on the research and wisdom of one of the country's leading adolescent nutrition experts, this book can help make a difference in the lives of teens and families." -Mary Story, PhD, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota "This remarkable 'how-to' guide can be characterized in one word: balance. Dr. Neumark-Sztainer balances practical advice for parents with scientific evidence to support it--and shows how to help teens take a more balanced approach to food and fitness. Delightfully clear, uplifting, and empowering." -Richard E. Kreipe, MD, Chief of Adolescent Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center About the Author: Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, is a researcher and professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, where she also serves as the principal investigator for Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of adolescent eating behaviors to date. Widely published on topics related to adolescent health and nutrition, Dr. Neumark-Sztainer is a sought-after speaker and lecturer who has been cited in The New York Times and USA Today, and has appeared on The Montel Williams Show.
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