Making Weight: Healing Men's Conflicts with Food, Weight, and Shape (Paperback)

by M.D. Arnold Andersen (Author), Leigh Cohn M.A.T. (Author), M.D. Tom Holbrook (Author), Leigh Cohn (Author), Arnold Andersen (Author), Tom Holbrook (Author) "Jump ahead to the new century..." (more)
Key Phrases: body dysmorphia, weight prejudice, compulsive exercisers, Ten Steps (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Andersen (psychiatry, Iowa State Univ.; ed., Males with Eating Disorders), Leigh Cohn (ed., Eating Disorders, the Journal of Treatment and Prevention), and Thomas Holbrook, a medical specialist, also address men's concerns with physical appearance, drawing attention to fat as a men's issue and focusing on obesity and eating disorders. After extended discussions on the developmental, social, and evolutionary factors contributing to appearance ad self-esteem, the authors provide "a proactive proposition for men who want to feel and look better" in "Ten Steps to Healthy Living," with advice on nutrition, exercise, relationships, and social and spiritual concerns. Holbrook relates his own story of recovery from eating disorders and excessive exercise. Courses of treatment are described, and a final chapter offers advice for families and loved ones... [Gives] reading lists and resources on where to seek further help... recommended for public library collections.
Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A powerful, much-needed exposé of the current state of the male psyche and body image." -- Margo Maine, Ph.D. Author of Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters & Food

"A terrific book about men's concerns with their shape and weight. Highly recommended!" -- John P. Foreyt, Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

"Finally, weight-obsessed men have an exceptional resource that is authoritative, sensitive and practical." -- David M. Garner, Ph.D. Co-editor, Handbook of Treatment for Eating Disorders

"This book is a very accessible, highly practical combination of the authors' personal, professional, and political experiences in helping males." -- Michael Levine, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Kenyon College, Gambier, OH

"This will be the standard text on males and eating disorders for years to come." -- Craig Johnson, Ph.D. President-elect of Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Gurze Books; 1 edition (April 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936077352
• ISBN-13: 978-0936077352
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,791 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Gender Studies > Men
  #23 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Eating Disorders
  #29 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases > Eating Disorders

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Academy for Eating Disorders Review, May 21, 2002

By	"its_laurie" (USA) - See all my reviews

This book offers the lay person a comprehensive guide to weight and body image issues in men and promises to be a valuable resource for men and their families. The authors make compelling arguments for how and why these problems have increased for males over the last decade. The book is directed primarily toward men "who can't stand the way they look in the mirror, and the ones who are so driven for perfection that they neglect the deeper areas of life"(p.xiv). However, it is also intended for family and friends of such men and professionals who may treat them in clinical practice. The tone and style of the book would appeal a bit more to a lay audience than a professional one, and I think would make a good "recommended reading" for a therapist to offer to a client.

Overall, this book makes a very important contribution ... and one that you can recommend to your patients for an informative and insightful examination of men's concerns with weight and shape.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review by Joel Yager, M.D., May 21, 2002

By	Joel Yager (ALBUQUERQUE, NM USA) - See all my reviews

You'd never suspect from looking at the cover articles of men's fitness magazines at your local newsstands, but until now men had cause to feel neglected by the body dissatisfaction mavens of the academic community. In contrast to the scores of books written about women's issues about their bodies, eating disorders, and related topics, the literature addressed to males has been thin indeed. Men with eating disorders can now feel cared about too.

Dr. Tom Holbrook's account of his own struggle with anorexia nervosa is a highlight of the book. This remarkably candid, self-revelatory story of an astute psychiatrist whose struggles permeated his medical and psychiatric training and subsequent practice is probably matchless in the annals of wounded healers.

The last sections concern recovery, dealing with topics from basic nutritional information designed to foster realistic dietary and meal planning for gaining (or losing) weight, to psychological, social and spiritual aspects of recovery.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Making Weight" Makes Sense of Men's Struggle with Weight Management, October 8, 2008

By	Pavel Somov, Ph.D., Author of Eating the Mome... (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

What an excellent, normalizing, humanizing book on men's struggle with weight, shape and appearance. Dr. Holbrook's account of anorexia is a truly courages precedent of self-disclosure. The entire author trio offers a panoramic overview of various facets of male eating. The authors offer a psychologically healthy paradigm that shifts men's focus from weight management to shape management (after all, as the authors wisely note, "shape is easieer to change than weight). The books is replete with empirically sound discussion of the pitfalls of dieting and highly practical healthy eating and wellness tips. The book is accessible yet encyclopedic in scope: for example, it offers a discussion of the so-called sensory specific satiety and its interplay with appetite and overeating.

The book is by no means a rehashing of wellness truisms - the authors have managed to offer gender-specific, male-centered discussion of a whole gamut of food/eating-related topics ranging in scope from sexuality to fitness to such appearance topics as hair and love handles; and have offered a more than superficial analysis of self-help, psychological and psychopharmacological treatment options.

Of particular importance is the section for significant others of men with eating problems. The book offers ways to reach out to men struggling with weight management, in face-saving, ego-non-threatening ways. As such, the book is written with a good degree of psychological savvy and is clearly informed by the authors' extensive professional as well as personal experience with eating disorders in males.

"Making Weight" certainly makes the grade as a no-nonsense resource for men struggling with weight, shape and appearance.

Pavel Somov, Ph.D.
Author of "Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time" (New Harbinger, 2008)