Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture

ISBN: 1250892503

Author: Sole-Smith, Virginia

Condition: New

The New York Times BestsellerNamed the Best Book of 2023 by Book Riot and Science FridayFat Talk is the book I wish my parents had when I was growing up.-Julia Turshen, The New York Times bestselling authorBy the time they reach kindergarten, most kids believe that fat is bad. By middle school, more than a quarter of them have gone on a diet. What are parents supposed to do?Now with new material, including a new foreword by Kate Manne, a reading guide, and an afterword from the author.Kids learn, as weve all learned, that thinness is a survival strategy in a world that equates body size and value. Parents worry if their kids care too much about being thin, but even more about the consequences if they arent. And multibillion-dollar industries thrive on this fear of fatness. Weve fought the war on obesity for over forty years and Americans arent thinner or happier with their bodies. But its not our kids-or their weight-who need fixing.In this illuminating narrative, journalist Virginia Sole-Smith exposes the daily onslaught of fatphobia and body shaming that kids face from school, sports, doctors, diet culture, and parents themselves-and offers strategies for how families can change the conversation around weight, health, and self-worth.Fat Talk is a stirring, deeply researched, and groundbreaking book that will help parents learn to reckon with their own body biases, identify diet culture, and empower their kids to navigate this challenging landscape. Sole-Smith draws on her extensive reporting and interviews with dozens of parents and kids to offer a provocative new approach for thinking about food and bodies, and a way for us all to work toward a more weight-inclusive world.