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5.0 out of 5 stars
Looks at the Physical and the Emotional !, February 10, 2008
A double cheeseburger, large fries, and a chocolate shake adorn the cover of Dr. Linda Mintle's new book. Leading some more impulsive readers to make poor food choices before opening to the first page, on what was a perfect day for Frisbee golf, I took the book, a value meal, and sat down at my desk to read about obese kids.
The first chapter, titled, "Is my Child Overweight?" sets a precedent for solid content that is maintained throughout the text. Using vignettes, bulleted points, question-answer, letters from concerned parents, chapter quizzes, and sections of well-written prose, Mintle writes coherently and creatively about important, though potentially complex, measures--such as calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI)--and simplifies ideas for the casual reader, without ruining the material's integrity.
The Problem
When introducing the issues, Mintle encourages parents who struggle with weight themselves, "Leave shame, guilt, and rejection behind--they won't move us forward."1 And she elaborates, "If you are struggling with your own weight and feel it is hypocritical to feed your child differently in the hopes of helping him grow into his weight, it's not. Now would be a good time to get help to overcome your weight issues while working on establishing a healthy eating environment for your child and family."2
Dispelling harmful myth, Mintle debunks sleazy talk shows that blame parents for their severely-obese children, as well as bias headlines such as "Three-Year-Old Dies from Obesity", which have appeared in mainline news.3 Accordingly, with many of these extreme situations there are extenuating medical conditions, and still--dying from childhood obesity is unlikely.
However, childhood obesity is a problem, according to Mintle. Currently, 30% of our nations kids are overweight or at risk of being so.4 Moreover, 60% of children between the ages of 5 and 10 are already at risk for heart disease. Other risk factors of childhood obesity include asthma, diabetes, hypertension, orthopedic complications, sleep apnea, hyperlipidaemia, constipation, and polycystic ovary syndrome (in females).
Mintle identifies a myriad of factors that can lead to weight problems and presents them with cohesion. They are (1) too many calorie empty foods, (2) too little movement, (3) genetics, (4) emotional eating, (5) lifestyle and community changes, (6) family patterns, (7) the school scene, (8) advertisements and media, (9) a quick-fix mentality, and (10) poor spiritual equipping.
The Solution
Moving from problems to solutions, Mintle suggests a set of rules to ensure body weight is not a lifelong battle for kids. The first one: no diets (in the conventional sense of the term)! Other guidelines include never becoming the "food police", making good food choices and healthy living a family affair (i.e., don't treat differently one family member who struggles with weight), and setting a personal example of moderation and balance.
The book is uncommonly content rich, each chapter providing useful guidance to the reader. The text addresses more issues that can be listed (a look at the table of contents doesn't do the book justice), but a few areas of note are:
-How to talk to kids about health without scarring them for life
-Setting new eating and lifestyle habits that will improve well-being
-What and when to feed infants and toddlers of different ages
-Information on fat, trans-fat, carbohydrates, and protein nutrition
-Helping kids of varying ages keep healthy (diet and activity)
-Instilling good self-esteem and a healthy identity in kids.
-Setting up good motivations (e.g., rewards, contracts, etc.)
-Dealing with sedentary kids
-Satisfying food cravings
-Getting away from emotional eating
-Emotional growth and emotional self-regulation
-Coping with childhood peer-teasing
-Countering body image stereotypes from the media
-Spiritual health and growth
-Knowing when to seek professional assistance
Is there support for the claims states in the book? Though not all Mintle's statements reference a research study, the citations are ample-about 150 throughout the 232 pages of content.
Summary
Dr. Linda Mintle's book does what books like this should. It dispels common myth, and makes complex content both comprehendible and applicable to the reader. And it does this without compromising the integrity of the message. Moreover, in setting out to address physical health, Mintle takes a genuine "whole-person approach" for spiritual, relational and emotional health are present areas of concern throughout the book.
Additionally, this book outplays its recent competition on nearly every level. Linda Mintle sets out to address the issue of health among children. And she succeeds.
Final note: Telephone and Online Counseling might be a good way to help struggling parents. Learn to provide telephone and online counseling with this exceptional book:
The Therapist's Clinical Guide to Online Counseling and Telephone Counseling: The Definitive Training Guide for Clinical Practice
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