Childhood obesity is a national epidemic, and while the vast majority of people in this country agree that steps should be taken to curb this growing problem, there are differing opinions about how to do that. Potential solutions have garnered criticism from opposing sides and many parents have become unwitting targets of vitriol despite earnest efforts to help their children strive for healthier lifestyles.
One clear example of this backlash stems from a recent article written by Dara-Lynn Weiss for Vogue magazine's April 2012 "Shape" issue. In the piece, Ms. Weiss candidly outlines her own lifelong struggles with weight management and how she struggles to find balance in her efforts to help her daughter overcome weight-related issues. Part of those efforts involved starting her daughter in my nutritional program, "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right". While her daughter ultimately loses a significant amount of weight from her initial 6-year-old, 4'4" 93-pound frame (after one year, she has grown 2 inches and lost 16 pounds), Ms. Weiss's methods have received much backlash from readers, bloggers, and pundits alike who have derided her efforts as draconian and severe and point out that her child, despite her fondness for her healthier appearance, was miserable throughout the yearlong exercise.
As part of this backlash, my program, labeled as "the food solution that lets kids be kids," was unfortunately interpreted by some as the impetus for this super-strict approach.
For those who are not familiar with my program, I created "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" in an effort to offer families a simple-to-follow and practical plan to help teach children about healthy nutritional and exercise habits. While I do commend Ms. Weiss on certain aspects of her approach (such as limiting her daughter's overall intake of junk food and promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables), I believe she did fall short of carrying out many of our program's core attributes. The success of my program is based upon its promotion of flexibility and sensitivity... not severity and emotional distress. Not only did the article fail to capture our core philosophies, such as empowering children and advising parents to refrain from embarrassing their kids in public, it also did not show the flexibility of the program, which allows kids a number of indulgences to enjoy with friends every week.
In the Vogue article, Weiss states, "She (Bea) almost never got dessert." However, on the "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" program, every week, two red light foods are permitted for children to enjoy, such as, a piece of birthday cake or a dessert when dining out with their family. Our program also allows for one small treat every day, such as a 100-calorie-pack or a cookie; after all, we want kids to feel like kids!
The "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" program teaches families how to make healthy choices on their own. We ask families to commit to a minimum of twelve weeks on the program so the healthy choices they learn have time to become lifelong habits. Unfortunately, Bea did not continue her visits for the full length of the program and she missed out on many of the additional benefits our program offers.
While our chief aim is to help children achieve their weight loss goals, "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" is not just about nutrition and weight. Weight loss (for adults and children alike) is emotional. Weekly visits with our practitioners give families the support they need as they navigate these tricky waters. Kids will not always make the healthy choice. We teach parents to support their children's decisions (both good and bad) while in public and then discuss the choices at weekly visits. We never want a child to be embarrassed in front of his peers. For this reason, we suggest that parents and kids come up with a "code word" together, as a team, to remind them of their healthy eating goals in public settings without letting others know what it being discussed. This allows kids to make their own decisions and discuss them later during emotionally-neutral nutrition follow-up sessions.
There is no yelling, no finger-pointing, and no criticizing. The sessions are a learning experience for kids and parents alike. At "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right," we empower kids to make their own choices, take responsibility for their health, and encourage parents to give up the role of food police.
Follow Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joannadolgoffmd
Dieting ignited and fueled my obesity problem. I was put on my first doctor's diet when I was seven. My mother religiously followed the doctor's orders and I had to eat things that were awful and be denied cake and candy at school birthday parties. When that was over, things went from bad to worse. And it was not like I got overweight in the first place by overeating on my own. I just ate what my mother served, had to clean the plate, and got to have dessert if I did.
That conditioning as a little kid set me on an obese path that I didn't correct until I was in my thirties and lost 140 pounds, permanently. That was over 25 years ago. I've been helping others since.
Kids should never be "put on a diet" like I was. Your ideas are better.
William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com
My initial reaction when she described how Bea got in this position was that she was to blame. Even I know that a slice of pizza is not an adequate snack for an adult but even more so for a child. It's dinner! Not to be cliche but "back when I was a kid" a snack was a box of raisins or a cookie.
So she sets up her child with habits that are so obviously bad then yanks them away opting severe restriction. My prediction is that this kid is going to have far more issues with food than she would have had, had her mother not intervened.
Oh, one last thing: to top it off, she embarrasses her by writing an article which will probably be read by the mother's of every single one of her classmates. Like she's not ripe for teasing already. Humiliation on top of humiliation.
deborahdrezoncarroll.com
I do this too with my son. At 4, I don't allow him to rummage through the fridge or snack cabinet on his own. He has to learn still about when it's OK and not OK. Not right before meals/bedtime, and not when you're extremely hungry (take a piece of fruit or sandwich instead).
It's not food deprivation, it's not dieting, but it's teaching our children a healthy way to live. He learns that when he's hungry he should not fill his stomach with empty calories, but something that nourishes him. For dessert he can have a snack.
Once I hit puberty, my height finally caught up with my weight, but by that time, I had also developed an eating disorder, as well. I'm still battling that eating disorder today in my 30's. I would actually prefer not to eat, truth be told. No matter how thin I am, I will always see that chubby kid my dad felt was too fat to eat.
This stuff sticks with people in ways parents never even imagine.
Also, I think you may be right on in this case too; I think the author of the Vogue article is doing some long-term damage to her daughter.