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TRIM KIDS
The Proven 12-Week Plan That Has Helped Thousands of Children Achieve a Healthier Weight

Melinda S. Sothern, Ph.D., M.Ed., C.E.P.
T. Kristian von Almen, Ph.D.
Heidi Schumacher, R.D., L.D.N., C.D.E.

If you think a chubby child will outgrow his or her weight, think again. Today�s world of fast food and sedentary pastimes discourages physical activity and healthy eating. Affecting more than ten million children, obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disease of children in the United States, with one child in four at least 20 percent heavier than his ideal body weight. Twice as many children are overweight today as two decades ago � and 80 percent of overweight adolescents will become overweight adults. Overweight children are at risk of numerous problems, including low self-esteem, depression, isolation, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint diseases, and are at increased risk for adult obesity and type II diabetes.

Since childhood obesity is a relatively new phenomenon, parents often feel powerless against it. They�ve had nowhere to turn for comprehensive, authoritative advice, until now.
TRIM KIDS: The Proven 12-Week Plan That Has Helped Thousands of Children Achieve a Healthier Weight (HarperResource, January 1, 2002; $26.00), is the first weight management book based on a scientifically supported, clinically proven program that has helped more than 1,000 children, aged 5 to 17, lose weight and keep it off. The program�s short-term success rate is 90 percent, with a long-term rate of 65-70 percent � great news for overweight kids and adolescents.
In this life-changing book, childhood obesity experts Melinda S. Sothern, Ph.D., M.Ed., C.E.P., T. Kristian von Almen, Ph.D., and Heidi Schumacher, R.D., L.D.N., C.D.E., make their unique approach to preventing and treating this devastating disease available for the first time outside a clinical setting.

With TRIM KIDS, parents finally have practical tools for breaking the vicious circle of childhood weight problems. Straightforward and easy-to-follow, the 12-week program addresses the nutritional, emotional, and physical essentials for safe, effective weight management.

Part One of TRIM KIDS, Setting the Stage for Success, draws on the authors� years of research to explain how a child�s weight problem can be conquered with a family�s commitment to a simple, yet serious, three-pronged approach: an improved nutritional and eating regimen, increased daily physical activity, and gradual behavior modification. Through text, real-life stories, quizzes, and charts, readers learn how to:
� Understand the reasons why their child is overweight and how to combat the problem
� Identify the child's risk for obesity; and coordinate prevention and treatment effort with their pediatrician.
� Establish where their child falls in the Program�s color-coded weight ranges, from Level I, Red (most severe) to Level IV, Blue (healthy weight), and the specific considerations for each
� Determine what types of foods are best, how much and how often their child should be eating.
� Create an environment for safe, active play and understand how excess weight limits physical movement.
� Reduce family tensions by shifting from a negative to a positive focus regarding weight, food, and activity.

Part Two, The Trim Kids Twelve-Week Program, moves into workbook mode. Week by week, parents and kids learn and practice healthier habits using techniques that are fun, low-pressure, and proven to be effective with kids. Each week includes:
� Time to Stop and Think: sets the tone for what will be covered that week, plus useful behavior modification tips to focus on
� Time to Get Active: details �kid-specific� exercises and activities appropriate for their weight level;
� Time to Dine: contains essential nutrition know-how, menu plans and shopping lists for busy families, and healthy recipes kids will love;
� Time to Sum Up: helps parents and kids evaluate the week�s progress, problem-solve setbacks, and set goals for the next week.

Worksheets and weekly forms for tracking progress make this book a comprehensive, self-contained resource for families.
TRIM KIDS gives parents the satisfaction of knowing they have taken specific steps toward the family�s lifelong health, provided opportunities for physical activity, and a complete aerobic, stretching, and strengthening routine for their child�s long-term fitness, learned to eat and enjoy new foods, adopted healthier eating strategies for parties, restaurants, and holidays, and given their children a wonderful gift: a strong foundation a healthier, happier life.