The Family Guide to Fighting Fat: A Parent's Guide to Handling Obesity and Eating Issues
Texas Children’s Hospital Experts Take Aim Against Childhood Obesity
Offer advice for parents to take control and beat the odds
Houston, TX (October 7, 2008) --- This school year, Texas Children’s Hospital wants every parent and child to score an A+ in nutrition. More than 40 percent of Texas children are overweight, and obesity now tips the scales as a national epidemic. To help parents combat the problem, a collaborative team of pediatric medicine and nutrition experts from Texas Children’s Hospital has written The Family Guide to Fighting Fat: A Parent’s Guide to Handling Obesity and Eating Issues. While obesity is the number one public health crisis in the United States, childhood obesity has become a major health issue leading to the early onset of diabetes and a general health crisis for children.
The Family Guide to Fighting Fat, published by St. Martin’s Press, is a comprehensive guide that educates parents and children about the causes of childhood weight issues and provides evidence-based, practical information to help families change old habits and develop new healthier ones.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity is the single most important public problem that faces the United States today. The book comes at a time when more than 30 percent of children in the United States are classified as overweight and roughly half of that group is classified as obese, according to the CDC. Additionally, the CDC states that this may be the first generation of children that fails to outlive their parents.
"In the past 10 years, the number of overweight children in our country has nearly doubled," said Claudia Conkin, director of food and nutrition services at Texas Children’s Hospital. "In order to beat the odds, healthy habits must become a way of life for the whole family. This book is filled with practical ways families can work together to improve eating choices and increase activity."
Questionnaires at the beginning of each chapter allow readers to evaluate their family’s health, eating behaviors, exercise habits, and barriers to success. The book also includes healthy recipes, food journals, sample shopping lists, food group portion sizes, a body mass index calculator and growth charts.
"Texas Children’s Hospital is committed to improving children’s health across our community," said Roberta Anding, director of sports nutrition for the adolescent medicine section, at Texas Children’s Hospital. "We encourage all parents to learn about healthy choices for their families.”
The Family Guide to Fighting Fat is available for purchase at the Texas Children’s Hospital gift shop, Houston area book stores and Amazon.com for $14.95.
Texas Children’s Hospital is among the largest pediatric hospitals in the country and is dedicated to serving children and families through excellence in patient care, education and research. The hospital has a range of programs and services designed to treat children with various weight and eating issues. The Food and Nutrition Services Department, Wellness Center and Center for Comprehensive Surgical Management of Adolescent Obesity, Young Woman’s Clinic, Weigh of Life, and Eating Disorders Clinic are devoted to children and their special needs. For more information on health and nutrition programs for children under the age of 12, visit
www.texaschildrens.org/carecenters/GINutrition, and for children over the age of 12, visit
http://www.texaschildrens.org/carece...escentMedicine.
About Texas Children’s Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is committed to a community of healthy children by providing the finest pediatric patient care, education and research. Renowned worldwide for its expertise and breakthrough developments in clinical care and research, Texas Children’s is ranked in the top ten best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Texas Children’s also operates the nation’s largest primary pediatric care network, with over 40 offices throughout the greater Houston community. Texas Children’s has embarked on a $1.5 billion expansion, Vision 2010, which includes a comprehensive neurological research institute, the formation of a maternity center, and the development of the new West Campus, Texas Children’s first pediatric community hospital. For more information on Texas Children's Hospital, visit
www.texaschildrens.org.
