Do you parent a fat child? This letter comes from a large woman raising a child who is now teased at school because of her size. Should she put her child on a diet? Take her to the gym?

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Key Points:

• 12 in 100,000 children have Type 2 Diabetes* yet 2900 in 100,000 children experience an eating disorder**. Statistically, worry more about eating disorders than increased adiposity.
• Teach kids how to have a healthy body image and a healthy relationship with food.
• Is fat a bad word? Let's neutralize it. Just may be the key to positive body image and respecting others.
• The Division of Food Responsibility by Ellyn Satter
• What to do about junk foods? Stop calling them junk and refer to them as fun foods because they are fun! Offer them a few times a week at a snack or as part of a meal.
• Do you make your child go to the gym? No pain no gain = more body hate. Encourage movement that feels pleasurable. As a parent, our job is to help children to connect to the movement their body prefers.

Show Notes:

• *Writings Group et al., "Incidence of Diabetes"
• **K.R. Merikangas et al. "Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in US Adolescents: Results from the National Co-morbitity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 49, no. 10 (2010): 980-9.
• Helping Your Large Child in a Fat Phobic World
• Eating Disorder Dietitians
• Julie Dillon RD blog

Food Peace Syllabus Additions:

• Your Child's Weight: Helping Without Harming by Ellyn Satter
• Your Dieting Daughter: Antidotes Parents can Provide for Body Dissatisfaction, Excessive Dieting, and Disordered Eating by Carolyn Costin

Do you have a complicated relationship with food? I want to help! Send your Dear Food letter to LoveFoodPodcast@gmail.com. 

Thank you for listening to the Love, Food series. Give me feedback via Twitter @EatingPermitRD or leave me a review in iTunes and subscribe. This type of kindness helps the show continue!