The books, publications, and Web sites listed in this section provide a starting point for readers who want to learn more about many of the topics covered in this book. It is impossible for any source list on childhood obesity to be comprehensive, but I have mentioned sources that I found valuable in my research and others that experts have recommended.
Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, edited by Jeffrey P. Koplan, Catharyn T. Liverman, and Vivica I. Kraak. Report of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Published by the National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2005.
The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, 2001. Available from the U.S. Government Printing Office (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library), Washington, DC.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site explains the significance of BMI as an indicator of weight status for adults, children, and adolescents. Users can input their height and weight into a “BMI Calculator” and follow a link to obtain the CDC’s growth charts for babies, children, and adolescents.
Be Healthy! It’s a Girl Thing: Food, Fitness, and Feeling Great, by Mavis Jukes and Lilian W. Y. Cheung. Published by Crown Books for Young Readers, New York, NY, 2003. An upbeat guide to improving nutrition, fitness, and self-image for girls in grades 5 to 9.
Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, by Ellyn Satter. Published by Bull Publishing Company, Boulder, CO, 2000. Satter is a registered dietitian whose readable, commonsense approach to feeding infants and children earns favorable recommendations from nutrition experts. Other books by her are also recommended.
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating, by Walter C. Willett, M.D., Ph.D. Published by Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2001. Epidemiologist Willett offers an alternative version of the Food Guide Pyramid with increased emphasis on dietary sources of “healthy” fats and whole grains. Includes recipes and menus.
American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child’s Nutrition: Making Peace at the Table and Building Healthy Habits for Life, by William H. Dietz, M.D., Loraine Stern, M.D., and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Published by Villard, New York, NY, 1999. Information and strategies for feeding kids, from newborns to adolescents.
The Stoplight Diet for Children, by Leonard H. Epstein, Ph.D. and Sally Squires, M.S. Published by Little, Brown and Co., Boston, MA, 1988. (Out of print, but may be available from public libraries or used bookstores.) Forms the basis for eating plans and dietary counseling approaches used in many pediatric obesity treatment programs.
Volumetrics: Feel Full on Fewer Calories, by Barbara J. Rolls, Ph.D., and Robert A. Barnett. Published by HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2000. Based on research showing that eating nutritious foods that are low in energy density (such as fresh vegetables and fruits) helps people feel satiated and prevents excess weight gain.
The Way to Eat, by David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., and Maura Harrigan Gonzalez, M.S., R.D. Published by Sourcebooks, Inc., Naperville, IL, 2002. Particularly helpful on personal and family strategies for changing unhealthy eating habits.
http://kidnetic.com An interactive Web site for children ages 9 to 12 and their parents that promotes healthy eating and active living. It’s a project of the International Food Information Council Foundation (http://www.ific.org), whose Web site also offers general nutrition information and child-feeding tips for parents. IFIC is supported by the food, beverage, and agricultural industries.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-gen.html Learn how to read and interpret the nutrition information on food labels at this Web address, part of the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site. Also provides a lesson kit on food labels for high school teachers.
http://www.shapeup.org Web site of Shape Up America!, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
http://www.usda.gov This is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Web site. By clicking on the Food and Nutrition link, you can find the latest edition of the government’s dietary guidelines, standard serving
sizes, the Food Guide Pyramid (including recommended servings for children of different ages), facts about the federal school lunch program, and other valuable information. There’s also an Interactive Healthy Eating Index and Physical Activity Tool that allows the user to input personal information about diet and activity patterns and get an individualized assessment.
Policy Statement: Identifying and Treating Eating Disorders, by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Adolescence. Pediatrics, vol. 111, pp. 204–211, 2003. Available at http://aappolicy.aappublications.org. Guidance for health professionals on identifying and treating children with eating disorders.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm The National Institute of Mental Health Web site offers information about anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorders, including research, treatment, and links to specialty organizations and advocacy groups.
http://americaonthemove.org A national initiative to promote physical activity, described in Chapter 5.
http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm The Web site of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, particularly useful for parents of school-age children, coaches, and P.E. teachers.
http://www.presidentschallenge.org Interactive Web site promoting physical activity, sponsored by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
http://www.tvallowance.com The electronic TV monitor used in Stanford researcher Tom Robinson’s study on preventing obesity by
reducing children’s TV-watching time (see Chapter 5) can be purchased at this Web site.
http://www.tv-turnoff.org Web site for TV-Turnoff Network, devoted to helping children and families reduce their viewing time.
American Academy of Pediatrics New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding, edited by Joan Younger Meek, with Sherill Tippins. Published by Bantam Books, New York, NY, 2002.
The Best Start in Life, by David Barker. Published by Century, The Random House Group Limited, London, 2003. Describes how a woman’s diet and nutritional status during pregnancy may affect her unborn child’s future health.
Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, revised edition, by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Published by Bantam, New York, 2004. Child care from birth through age 5, including the feeding of infants and toddlers.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, and Sandee Hathaway. Published by Workman, New York, 2002. Provides a detailed and clearly organized guide to pregnancy.
A Woman’s Guide to Breastfeeding, by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Available at http://www.aap.org/family/brstguid.htm. Provides general information for women planning to breastfeed.
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, 7th edition, revised, by La Leche League International. A comprehensive guide to breastfeeding, available at www.lalecheleague.org. The league’s Web site also offers many other kinds of support for nursing mothers.
For advice on infant feeding, also see the American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child’s Nutrition and Satter’s Child of Mine and other books, listed under HEALTHY EATING.
Eat Well & Keep Moving: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Teaching Upper Elementary School Nutrition and Physical Activity, by Lilian W. Y. Cheung, Steven L. Gortmaker, and Hank Dart. Published by Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 2001.
Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 45, No. RR-9, pp. 1–33, June 14, 1996. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00042446.htm. This report summarizes strategies for promoting healthy eating among school-age children and adolescents and provides nutrition education guidelines for a comprehensive school health program.
Planet Health: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Teaching Middle School Nutrition and Physical Activity, by Jill Carter, Jean Wiecha, Karen Peterson, and Steven L. Gortmaker. Published by Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 2001.
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi Web site of the School Health Index, a self-assessment and planning tool from the CDC that schools can use to improve policies on health and safety. Also useful for parents trying to strengthen school programs on food and physical activity.
Helping Your Overweight Child, by the NIDDK Weight-Control Information Network, July 2004. Online brochure with advice for parents and a list of additional resources. Made available by the International Food Information Council Foundation at http://ific.org/publications/brochures/overweightkidbroch.cfm.
The Weight-Control Information Network also has other publications as well as information about finding obesity treatment available through its Web site, http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/win.htm, or by mail at 1 WIN Way, Bethesda, MD 20892-3665. WIN’s toll-free number is 1-877-946-4627.
Trim Kids: The Proven 12-Week Plan That Has Helped Thousands of Children Achieve a Healthier Weight, by Melinda S. Sothern, T. Kristian von Almen, and Heidi Schumacher. Published by Harper Collins, New York, 2001. The approach to treatment for overweight kids described in this book was developed from clinical research at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. (See Chapter 8 for more details.)
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov Parents and others can find federally funded research programs on the treatment of childhood obesity by consulting this NIH Web site.
http://www.obesity.org/subs/childhood/healthrisks.shtml This American Obesity Association Web site has a good section (with many useful links) on the health risks, diagnosis, and treatment of child obesity.
Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, by Marion Nestle. Published by the University of California Press, Berkeley, 2002. A fascinating look at how lobbying by the food and agriculture industries influences every aspect of government nutrition policy, from dietary guidelines to the school lunch program.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition.htm Scroll down to State Legislative Information to access a database sponsored by the CDC that lists state legislative initiatives on nutrition and physical activity.
http://www.acfn.org Web site of the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition, a nonprofit organization formed in 2003 by a coalition of
food and beverage companies, trade associations, and nutrition advocates to “work toward comprehensive and achievable solutions to the nation’s obesity epidemic.” Lists federal government initiatives and some workplace and community-level efforts, as well as programs sponsored by food and beverage companies. It’s a starting point for learning about the food industry’s response to the epidemic. (Many corporations also provide information about their positions and initiatives on their own Web sites.)
http://www.eatright.org Web site of the American Dietetic Association (the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals), which has a section on Government Affairs with helpful information on food policy.
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/pp/healthpromo.cfm Database sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures for looking up state legislation on many health topics.
http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org Web site of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. Provides examples of how California nutrition activists have pioneered the approach of using specific local data on children’s obesity and diabetes risk as a lobbying tool to engage voters and to encourage local and state legislators to pass new laws on school food and other issues. Activists in other cities and states are beginning to adopt this approach.
http://www.thecommunityguide.org This Web site of a nonfederal community task force on preventive services provides information on the strength of the evidence supporting various strategies for improving nutrition and promoting activity.
Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood, by Susan Linn. Published by New Press, New York, NY, 2004. A highly critical look at how American companies market their products to children.
The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity, by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004. Available at http://www.kff.org. This nonprofit organization is known for its research on health policy issues.
http://www.ana.net Web site of the Association of National Advertisers, a trade organization of more than 300 companies that collectively spend more than $100 billion on marketing and advertising. On the ANA’s homepage, there is a link to a “white paper” describing the industry’s current self-regulation guidelines for food advertising (http://www.narcpartners.org/narcwhitepaper.aspx) and you can also find advertisers’ positions on current legislative and regulatory issues.
http://www.asu.edu/educ/epsl/ceru.htm Web site of the Commercialism in Education Research Unit, directed by Alex Molnar, a professor of education policy at Arizona State University. The center does both research and advocacy; its Web site contains a roundup of news about efforts opposing commercialism in schools in various parts of the country.
http://www.commercialalert.org Web site of a nonprofit organization, cofounded by Ralph Nader, whose mission statement says it aims “to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children.”
http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org The Web site of the Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood (CCFC), formerly known as Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children (SCEC). Run by Boston psychologist Susan Linn, whose book is listed above, CCFC describes itself as a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups, and parents dedicated to countering the harmful effects of marketing to children.
http://www.cspinet.org Web site of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit Washington-based lobbying and advocacy group, best known for its long-standing activism on the nutritional content and marketing of fast food. Provides information on nutrition issues and policy initiatives.
http://www.obligation.org Web site of an Alabama-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting unrestricted marketing to children, particularly on television and in schools (as on Channel One). Obligation’s founder, Jim Metlock, received an award from the Alabama chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
http://www.activeliving.org Web site for the Active Living Network, a project partially funded by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It’s described as a national coalition of leaders seeking to create environments that support physical activity.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/aces.htm Web site for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Active Community Environments Initiative, with additional resources on walking and biking trails and physical activity promotion.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk/index.htm The KidsWalk-to-School program on the CDC’s Web site features a downloadable presentation, lesson plans, and other information for organizing a community program to get children to walk or bike to school.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/obesity/hrt_n_pk/ Web site of Hearts N’ Parks, a national community-based program supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute that provides activities, resources, and training to people involved in park and recreation programs.
http://www.walkable.org Walkable Communities, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation headed by Dan Burden (a longtime activist for bicycle and pedestrian facilities in communities). The Web site provides information, training, planning services, and other assistance for groups and organizations seeking to make their communities more walkable and bikeable.
http://www.walktoschool-usa.org Web site offering a toolkit and other resources for establishing a Safe Routes to School Program in your neighborhood.
The New Farmers’ Market, by Vance Corum, Marcie Rosenzweig, and Eric Gibson. Available from New World (www.nwpub.net/nfm.html), Auburn, CA, 2001. The Food Trust’s Brian Lang recommends this book for anyone who wants to learn how to start a farmers market.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/ Web site of the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Contains a list of farmers markets in every state, as well as information on obtaining federal funding or linking up with private organizations to establish or expand local farmers markets.
http://www.healthystores.org Web site of the Healthy Stores Project (described in Chapter 9). Includes sample materials used to educate local consumers and promote healthy foods, as well as a list of helpful links.
http://www.thefoodtrust.org Web site of the Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that operates farmers markets, promotes better nutrition in schools, and works to improve local availability of fresh foods. Helpful for anyone who wants to pursue such activities. The Food Trust and the Healthy Stores Project (listed above) are also cooperating to form a national network of people and organizations around the country working on the issue of access to healthy foods.