The Good Parenting Food Guide

Jane Ogden is Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Surrey, UK, and has researched eating behavior, obesity management, and eating disorders for 25 years.  She has published over 140 papers and is the author of five books, including The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior, and Fat Chance: The Myth of Dieting Explained. In addition, she has published several articles for a non-academic audience and is a regular contributor to health discussions on the radio and television and in magazines and newspapers.  She has two children, and this book is the culmination of 14 years of trying to put her research into practice.

Introduction ix Facts and theories 1

1. What is healthy eating? 3

2. How do we learn to like the food we like? 22

3. What does food mean to us and what role does it play in our lives? 37

4. Why are eating habits so hard to change? 52

5. Overweight and obesity: prevalence, consequences, and causes 67

6. Overweight and obesity: prevention and treatments 85

7. Eating disorders: prevalence, consequences, and causes 96

8. Eating disorders: prevention and treatments 116

Tips and reality 133

9. “I don’t have time to cook” 135

10. “My child won’t eat a healthy diet” 161

11. “My child watches too much TV”: tips for being more active 174

12. “My child eats too much” 187

13. “My child won’t eat enough” 196

14. “My child thinks they are fat” 206

15. Take home points 216

Recommended reading 218

References 220

Index 225