The Myth of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic
I love this first glimpse of the book! I have ordered three copies, one for my sons middle school as well. Some of the research I knew about and some of it is new. I couldn't remember the Michelle Obama campaign very well so I looked back at the coverage and her statements. Some made me physically flinch...and wonder how Obama feels about her words now, or how Melia herself feels about them. We are all so steeped in this culture that I feel it will be so many years before we look back and see change. When we know better, we do better, right?
I also flinched a bit (just a bit, as I'm used to mothers being raked over the coals about this) at the statement about every person with an eating disorder you spoke with recalling body shaming from their mothers. I would say that correlation doesn't always imply causation... with so many women living in the ocean of diet culture, many people will likely have parents who contributed harmful statements, but not all. There is so much misinformation about ED in general but many amazing providers and organizations working hard to correct this. We had no diet culture, food rules in our household but yet my daughter developed anorexia. Biological and genetic factors are at play as well as society and usually a trigger (in our case, the pandemic). My daughters ED therapist group recommends your site to all their families. I'm so thankful to find a community of people who understand more than the general population. And thankful for your writing and your work Virginia. If anyone would like to read more or thinks they or a loved one need help, these sites are of great support.
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