Just a Little Too Thin

At a time when 81 percent of ten-year-old girls say they are afraid of being fat, early dieting is clearly a widespread problem. However, the difference between being "just a little too thin" and having a full-blown eating disorder can be hard for even the most involved parent to distinguish. Dr. Michael Strober and Meg Schneider's Just a Little Too Thin shows parents how to approach this problem proactively. First, it helps parents determine the severity of a child's weight issues by outlining the three stages of this slippery slope and the behavioral signs associated with each. The book then gives expert guidance on talking about weight and eating in ways that help a daughter cope with the emotional issues that feed her obsession. No matter where a girl rests on the continuum of eating behaviors, Just a Little Too Thin is an invaluable aid for parents intent on keeping their children emotionally and physically healthy in a world of unprecedented pressures.

Michael A. Strober, Ph.D., is the Director of both the Eating Disorders Program and Adolescent Mood Disorders Program at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA. Also the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, he lives in Los Angeles, California. Meg Schneider, M.A., L.M.S.W., is a therapist who divides her time between a private practice and an outpatient mental health center in New York, where she specializes in treating adolescents and their families.