Resources
External Links
Research and Policy
- The Weight-Inclusive versus Weight-Normative Approach to Health: Evaluating the Evidence for Prioritizing Well-Being over Weight Loss
- Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift
- National Weight Control Registry – Skydiving Without a Chute
- Probability of an Obese Person Attaining Normal Body Weight: Cohort Study Using Electronic Health Records
- Medicare's search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer
- All shapes and sizes
- Obesity, health at every size, and public health policy
- The epidemiology of overweight and obesity: Public health crisis or moral panic?
- Obesity: An overblown epidemic?
- The body politic: the relationship between stigma and obesity-associated disease
- Treating obesity seriously: When recommendations for lifestyle change confront biological adaptations
- Morality and health: News media constructions of overweight and eating disorders
- The ineffectiveness and unintended consequences of the public health war on obesity
- If shaming reduced obesity, there would be no fat people
Eating Disorders
- National Eating Disorders Association
- The Renfrew Center - Since 1985, The Renfrew Centers have been providing
clinical excellence within a nurturing environment empowering women to change their lives. - Gurze Books - trade book publisher specializing in eating disorders
- Food and Health Communications - creative culinary resources for health educators
- The American Anorexia Bulimia Association, Inc. (AABA)
- Dads and Daughters - Joe Kelly
- Eating Disorders Coalition - For Research, Policy and Action
- National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)
- ANOREXIA NERVOSA & RELATED EATING DISORDERS (ANRED)
- Jean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising
Health at Every Size ®
- The Association for Size Diversity and Health is an international organization based on the principles of Health At Every Size®. The website has excellent resources, information and a blog.
- More Health At Every Size® resources, and a listing of practitioners
- From Jon Robison:Holistic Health Promotion, helpful information
- My favorite blog, by Ragen Chastain. Read the archives!
- Attuned eating instead of dieting, by registered dietitians
- Body Positive: Ideas for improving body image at any weight
- From Marilyn Wann, author of Fat!So
- Books!
- Council on Size & Weight Discrimination
- Great resources from the amazing Linda Bacon
- Size diversity and discrimination resources
- From the authors of Overcoming Overeating
- Wonderful stuff from Green Mountain at Fox Run
Reading List
Relationships and Parenting
- Steven Carter, Men Like Women Who Like Themselves (158.2)
Easy to read relationship and dating tips
- Gary Chapman, The Five Love Languages (646.78)
Improving communication in marriage and other relationships, written from a Christian perspective
- Thomas Crum, The Magic of Conflict
Published in 1987, an interesting look at applying Aikido concepts to everyday life
- John Gottman, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work (306.81)
Good points, specific exercises
- John Gottman, The Heart of Parenting
- Relationship skills, by developmental stages
- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (155.9)
Excellent resource for the novice or experienced meditator
- Joe Kelly, Dads and Daughters (306.8742)
Helpful information about cultural influences on body image as well as great tips for dads, moms and grandparents
- Jerold Kreisman, I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me (616.8585)
A guide to dealing with borderline personality disorder
- George Lakoff, Moral Politics (172)
Conservative vs. Liberal views of family and policy issues
- Harriet Goldhor Lerner, The Dance of Anger (152.4)
Valuable ideas on dealing with life’s difficulties
- Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul (158.1)
- "A guide for cultivating depth and sacredness in everyday life"
- E. Fuller Torrey, MD, Surviving Schizophrenia (616.8982)
Thorough explanation of schizophrenia in comparison to other mental illnesses
- Daniel Siegel, MD, Parenting From The Inside Out
Mindful relationship skills, applicable to non-parenting situations as well
Eating Disorders
- Linda Bacon, Health At Every Size; The Surprising Truth About Your Weight (613.25)
Extensively researched, easy to read, practical and essential
- Frances Berg, Women Afraid to Eat (616.398)
- Frances Berg, Children and Teens Afraid To Eat (618.92)
Throughly researched and documented information about how adequate nutrition is compromised by dieting and preoccupation with slenderness on and individual and cultural level.
- Joan Jacobs Brumberg, The Body Project (305.235)
Easy to read historical account of how some of our attitudes about girls’ and women’s bodies have changed over time, and why.
- Paul Campos, The Obesity Myth (616.398)
Compelling argument that “America’s obsession with weight is hazardous to your health”.
- Kim Chernin, The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness
- Kim Chernin, The Hungry Self: Women, Eating and Identity
Classics regarding women, relationships and food
- Kaz Cooke, Real Gorgeous (613.04244)
Funny, delightful to read, packed with information about personal and cultural issues involving food, weight and body image, plus suggestions for change
- Carolyn Costin, The Eating Disorder Sourcebook; A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments, and Prevention of Eating Disorders
Overview of information, primarily related to bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Well written and easy to read, it includes chapters on several special topics
- Laura Fraser, Losing It
Well researched and written history and current impact of the dieting industry
- Rita Freedman, Beauty Bound (305.42)
Fascinating review of the role that beauty plays in our culture and in our lives
- Rita Freedman, Body Love (155.633)
Practical, workable suggestions on “Learning To Like Our Looks and Ourselves”
- Glenn A. Gaesser, Big Fat Lies (613.7)
Up to date information about weight, health, fitness, and the dangers of dieting
- Jane Hirschmann and Lela Zaphiropoulos, Are You Hungry?
Guide for parents to help children learn healthy eating habits
- Joe Kelly, Dads and Daughters (306.8742)
Helpful information about cultural influences on body image as well as great tips for dads
- Kirkpatrick and Caldwell, Eating Disorders: Everything You Need To Know
Concise information on a number of related topics
- Jean Kilbourne, Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel (658.834)
Extensively researched and thought provoking commentary on the way our lives are affected by advertising and marketing. Previously published as “Deadly Persuasion”
- Caroline Knapp, Appetites: Why Women Want (362.1)
Thoughtful exploration of wanting, neediness and satiety dealing with food, relationships, material possessions and success
- Raymond Lemberg, ed., Eating Disorders: A Reference Sourcebook (616.8526)
Essays by more than 40 authors covering general and specific topics regarding eating disorders
- Harvey Levenstein, Revolution at the Table
Fascinating history of cultural eating patterns in the United States in the last two centuries
- Mary Pipher, Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (305.235)
Excellent analysis of the stresses and pressures faced by girls in modern culture, along with helpful suggestions for the adults in their lives
- Marion Nestle, Food Politics (363.85)
How government agencies, politicians, and manufacturers influence our decisions about what we eat. Well researched and interesting to read
- Geneen Roth, When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair
Humorous yet meaningful, “50 ways to feel thin, gorgeous and happy (when you feel anything but)”
- Jon Robison and Karen Carrier, The Spirit and Science of Holistic Health
An interesting new approach to illness, healing, and wellness using the Health at Every Size® paradigm
- Ellyn Satter, Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family
- Ellyn Satter, Your Child’s Weight: Helping Without Harming
- Ellyn Satter, Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
Helpful, practical guides for parents
- Jenni Schaefer with Thom Rutledge, Life Without Ed
First person account of recovering from an eating disorder based on thinking of the disorder as an abusive husband
- Christina Sell, Yoga from the Inside Out
Good suggestions for making peace with the body, and using a physical discipline as part of a spiritual path
Health at Every Size ®
- Karen Andes, A Woman’s Book of Power
An approach to fitness and exercise that emphasizes honoring the body and soul
- Linda Bacon et al, Size Acceptance and Intuitive Eating Improve Health for Obese, Female Chronic Dieters, Journal American Dietetic Association, 2005; 105, pp.929-936.
- Linda Bacon, Health At Every Size; The Surprising Truth About Your Weight (613.25)
Extensively researched, easy to read, practical and essential
- Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor, Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift
- Nutrition Journal 2011, 10:9
- Frances Berg, Women Afraid to Eat (616.398)
- Frances Berg, Children and Teens Afraid To Eat (618.92)
Throughly researched and documented information about how adequate nutrition is compromised by dieting and preoccupation with slenderness on and individual and cultural level.
- Susan Bordo, Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body
- The links between Western culture’s mind/body dichotomy and the cult of thinness
- Joan Jacobs Brumberg, The Body Project (305.235)
Historical account of our attitudes about girls’ and women’s bodies
- Paul Campos, The Obesity Myth (616.398)
Compelling argument that “America’s obsession with weight is hazardous to your health”
- Kim Chernin, The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness
- Kim Chernin, The Hungry Self: Women, Eating and Identity
Classics regarding women, relationships and food
- Kaz Cooke, Real Gorgeous (613.04244)
Funny, delightful to read, packed with information about personal and cultural issues involving food, weight and body image, plus suggestions for change
- Amy Erdman Farrell, Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in America
Historical analysis of multiple cultural issues regarding body size
- Laura Fraser, Losing It
Well researched and written history and current impact of the dieting industry
- Rita Freedman, Beauty Bound (305.42)
Fascinating review of the role that beauty plays in our culture and in our lives
- Rita Freedman, Body Love (155.633)
Practical, workable suggestions on “Learning To Like Our Looks and Ourselves”
- Glenn A. Gaesser, Big Fat Lies (613.7)
Up to date information about weight, health, fitness, and the dangers of dieting
- Barry Glassner, The Gospel of Food
- “Why We Should Stop Worrying and Enjoy What We Eat"
- Linda R. Harper, The Tao of Eating
Specific ideas and suggestions for eating in a way that nourishes the soul instead of dieting
- Jane Hirschmann and Carol Munter, Overcoming Overeating
Well written “how to” approach to dealing with binge eating and related problems.
- Jane Hirschmann and Carol Munter, When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies
Excellent examination of the cultural, social and political pressures on women today
- Jane Hirschmann and Lela Zaphiropoulos, Are You Hungry?
Guide for parents to help children learn healthy eating habits
- Joanne Ikeda et al., A Commentary on the New Obesity Guidelines from NIH, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Vol. 99, No. 8, August 99, pp.918-919.
- Joanne Ikeda, Dieting Among Children and Adolescents, Healthy Weight Journal, July/August 2001
- Jean Kilbourne, Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel (658.834)
Extensively researched and thought provoking commentary on the way our lives are affected by advertising and marketing. Previously published as “Deadly Persuasion”
- Caroline Knapp, Appetites: Why Women Want (362.1)
Thoughtful exploration of wanting, neediness and satiety dealing with food, relationships, material possessions and success
- Gina Kolata, Rethinking Thin (613.25)
- “The New Science of Weight Loss - and the Myths and Realities of Dieting.”
More evidence that dieting doesn’t work
- George Lakoff, Moral Politics (172)
Conservative vs. Liberal views of family and policy issues
- Harvey Levenstein, Revolution at the Table
Fascinating history of cultural eating patterns in the United States in the last two centuries
- Pat Lyons and Debby Burgard, Great Shape
Fitness guide for large women - how to be fit at any size
- Harriet Goldhor Lerner, The Dance of Anger (152.4)
Valuable ideas on dealing with life’s difficulties
- Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel, Beyond A Shadow Of A Diet
- “The therapist’s guide to treating compulsive eating”
- Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel, The Diet Survivor’s Handbook
- “60 Lessons in eating, acceptance and self care”
- Traci Mann et al, “Medicare’s Search for Effective Obesity Treatments,” American Psychologist, April 2007, pp. 220-233.
- Marion Nestle, Food Politics (363.85)
How government agencies, politicians, and manufacturers influence our decisions about what we eat. Well researched and interesting to read
- Carol Emery Normandi and Laurelee Roark, It’s Not About Food (616.85)
A guide for giving up obsession with food and dieting behaviors with specific suggestions and exercises.
- Geneen Roth, When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair
Humorous yet meaningful
, “50 ways to feel thin, gorgeous and happy (when you feel anything but)”- Jon Robison and Karen Carrier, The Spirit and Science of Holistic Health
An interesting new approach to illness, healing, and wellness using the Health at Every Size® paradigm
- Jon Robison, Kelly Putnam, and Laura McKibbin “Health At Every Size, Parts one and Two”, American Association for Occupational Health Nursing, April and May, 2007, pp. 143-150, 185-192.
- Adam Tsai MD and Thomas Wadden MD, “Systematic Review: An Evaluation of Major Commercial Weight Loss Programs in the United States,” Annals of Internal Medicine, January 2005, pp56-66.
- Sondra Solovay, J.D. Tipping the Scales of Justice
Discrimination, prejudice and legal issues
- Marilyn Wann, Fat!So? Because you Don’t Have to Apologize for Your Size
Delightful commentary and encouragement about living large in a fat-phobic society (306.4)
- Wayne Wooley and Susan Wooley, “The Beverly Hills eating disorder: The mass marketing of anorexia nervosa,” International Journal of Eating Disorders, 1, pp.57-69, 1982