“Eat This, Don’t Eat That” (by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding) is getting rave reviews. Is it a book that can help you and your overweight or obese child? Mostly yes, maybe a little bit no.
The book is put together quite well with some really fantastic practical advice. My favorite chapter is the first which explains the eight rules of childhood nutrition. The advice is geared to teach parents and kids about the general problems in today’s diets. One of the problems today is misinformation. While most of us have a general understanding about proper diet, we tend to fall into the traps of modern day society. This book quickly points out the problems we have with super-sized portions, hidden sugar and the lack of family meal time and structure.
Another great aspect of the book is some very surprising comparisons between popular kids foods. Spaghettios versus Mac & Cheese… Spaghettios wins out with fewer calories and fewer fat grams. What should your child eat at Chili’s? Not the Pepper Pals Country-Fried Chicken Crisper meal with a staggering 1110 calories! That’s more than half of most kids’ daily caloric requirements in one sitting! Instead, the Pepper Pals Grilled Chicken Platter with Cinnamon Apples was recommended.
There are only two minor problems that I can forsee with the book: 1. Misuse and 2. Not enough emphasis on fitness
It’s not enough to use the book as a guide to eating out right or making convenience purchases. Make sure to read the book thoroughly and understand the concepts it is teaching so that you can incorporate this into your child’s daily life. It doesn’t matter if you are making healthy restaurant choices once a week and feeding your child too much of the wrong stuff the rest of the week. That would be the equivalent of sending your child to fitness camp to lose weight and teach them healthy living styles only to let them return home to the same unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle they had before they left!
A huge portion of the childhood obesity problem lies with the sedentary lives that we all lead. I think the book should have placed a bit more emphasis on this aspect. There is a chapter at the end with some great ideas for family fitness as well as a few mentions in the rest of the book, but we really, really have to get our kids moving if we want them to be healthy.
Overall? A great buy if used properly and if the parents reading the book take it upon themselves to incorporate more exercise into their children’s lives. A great way to do this is through one of the fun weight loss camps for kids that will help you and your child make exercise a regular part of his or her daily life! Give it a shot!
