Underage and Overweight: America's Childhood Obesity Epidemic--What Every Parent Needs to Know (Hardcover)

~ Frances M. Berg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"offers much valuable advice on how parents and communities can address [obesity]. [U]nderstanding obesity is not easy." -- New York Times

A reassuring, practical book that will help both parents and children lead healthier lives....a refreshing response...highly recommended. -- Library Journal

Clearly written. Covers a range of useful information...the root causes of obesity...the lure and danger of fad diets. -- Contemporary Pediatrics, March 2004

I found the overall practical presentation in this book very helpful...The information on anorexia and bulimia is very good. -- Doody Reviews

Presents a new perspective on how to solve the obesity crisis...the tools needed to develop wellness in children. -- Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Aug 2004

Product Description

Childhood obesity has reached crisis proportions. Over the past two decades, the number of overweight adolescents has tripled. This skyrocketing youth obesity figure is associated with increases in high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, as well as higher obesity figures in the adult population. With the rate of obesity among children and teens skyrocketing, the health of an entire generation is at risk.

The first step in solving this health crisis is understanding it. In Underage & Overweight: America's Childhood Obesity Crisis—What Every Family Needs to Know, the first shattering look at this looming disaster, childhood obesity expert Frances Berg clearly lays out the causes of the current crisis. Underage & Overweight clearly lays out the causes of childhood obesity, its consequences, and its cures. It examines the issue from all sides—the classroom, the playground, the home entertainment center, the fast food counter, and the family dining table. It gives families, educators, health care workers, and policy makers the information they need to lead America's children to healthier and happier lives.

Underage & Overweight doesn't just explore the problem. It gives realistic guidance for conquering the problem of childhood obesity. Rather than prescribing aerobics and limiting portions, it offers a seven-point plan for raising healthy children that focuses on changing the way families think about food and physical activity. The tips it gives for guiding children to healthier lives are vital reading not only for parents and other caretakers, but also for teachers, school administrators, doctors, nurses, and health care workers—indeed, anyone concerned about our children and their future.

This heartfelt call for public awareness, understanding, and action is destined to become a landmark work in our country's war against childhood obesity.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Hatherleigh Press; 1 edition (November 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578261201
• ISBN-13: 978-1578261208
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #128,704 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We can help our kids. Jill Fleming, RD of Thin Choices , April 4, 2007

By	Inspiration presentations Consignment "Jill F... (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book addresses the issue of our overly-busy lives. Our children are as stressed and over-booked as we are. Their eating choices and patterns coupled with their lifestyle choices are the reason for obesity and eating disorders in children. I love that this book teaches us how to normalize eating and activity choices. Our children are not in touch with their internal hunger & satiety signals because of the overly processed foods we are letting them use to fuel their bodies. We parents have become too busy to schedule family dinners and bike rides with our kids. We are tossing food over the back seat to our kids as we are driving them to their next scheduled event. We have become afraid of unsafe communities and therefore are keeping our kids inside more often, where they are sitting in front of screens. The message in this book is that we need to stop placing all of the blame on the school lunches or fast food marketing and take control of the lifestyle choices we are helping our children make. We need to help our kids get back to normalized eating and playing just because it feels good.

Jill Fleming, MS, RD
Professional Speaker & Author of Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates: Simple Lifestyle Choices for Permanent Weight Loss (The Thin People Series)

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Works and What Dosen't, October 8, 2004

By	Anne C. Shovic - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found 'Underage and Overweight' to be an excellent, relevant resource in the very critical issue of weight and children in our society. Of special note is the 'what works; what doesn't' section. Many of our students are still adolescents and have for most of their lives suffered from weight issues whether they are 'overweight' or not. Their well-meaning parents have often been part of the problem, trying to protect their child from becoming 'overweight,' which is so apparent in the scantily clad tropics of the Hawaiian Islands. Having a resource that gives such a broad overview of the issues is invaluable.
Anne Caprio Shovic, Ph.D., R.D., Associate Professor, Dietetics Program Director, Human Nutrition, University of Hawaii at Manoa

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Observations on self, March 31, 2005

By	Yet another reviewer - See all my reviews

He learnt from experimenting on his own life that moderation is the key to a balanced diet. No given diet is absolutely harmful but diets with very high carbohydrate and fat content should be restricted to minimum. In the end the total amount of calories taken in should be carefully watched. If a high calorie meal is consumed then one should compensatorily restrict calories at other meals. In the end to protect future generations there needs to be some control both at the consumer level as well as availability.