Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Book Riot best book of 2023
A Science Friday best book of 2023
An Audible best well-being audiobook of 2023
By 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?
Kids learn, as we’ve 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 aren’t. And multibillion-dollar industries thrive on this fear of fatness. We’ve fought the “war on obesity” for over forty years and Americans aren’t thinner or happier with their bodies. But it’s 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.
Book At A Glance
# of Pages: 384
Book Binding: Hardcover
Year of Publication: 2023
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Language: en
ISBN: 9781250831217
Creator Bio
Virginia Sole-Smith is an author and freelance journalist who has written extensively about health, wellness, and body image. Her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Slate. With a background in magazine editing and a master's degree in journalism, Sole-Smith has become a leading voice in the conversation surrounding diet culture and its impact on individuals and society. In her writing, she explores the complex relationship between food, body image, and self-worth, and offers a critical perspective on the pervasive messaging of the weight loss industry. She is also a mother of two and draws on her own experiences in her writing about parenting and body image.
