About Children

Featuring essays by renowned health and policy authorities in a very visual format, with more than 100 full color photos, this unique new book explores nearly every facet of modern American childhood. Each month we will feature a new excerpt from this book. More information/Order this book

June Excerpt

About Children: An Authoritative Resource on the State of Childhood Today

From Chapter 25 "Overweight: An Epidemic" by William H. Dietz

The final potential strategy for the prevention of overweight is the division of responsibility for feeding. Parents should be in charge of what children are offered, and children should be allowed to choose what to eat among the foods offered by parents and how much to eat. Although no data yet demonstrate that this approach prevents obesity, it may substantially reduce conflicts around feeding. Several important qualifications apply to the division of responsibility. For example, after a parent has offered foods to a child, it is not up to the parent to ensure that the child eats the food that has been offered or to make sure that the child eats enough of the food. Parents are often concerned that if the child chooses not to eat the food, he or she will be hungry. That is exactly the point. Many children have not learned that hunger is the logical consequence of their refusal to eat what is served. In early childhood, parents often are not persistent enough in their efforts to offer children new foods. Multiple attempts may be necessary before children accept a new food in their diet. Other strategies designed to regulate children's food intake may paradoxically increase the desirability of certain foods. For example, "forbidden foods" are a common strategy that parents employ to avoid giving their child high-calorie foods. However, when foods are forbidden, especially when they are available in the house but denied to the child, those foods often become more attractive to children and more likely to be overconsumed when the child has access to them.