Author(s): Michael Strober

For Carers

This is an invaluable parenting guide to understanding the slippery slope that leads to eating disorders, and to steering a child back to a healthy physical and emotional state. Some diets are just that - a brief episode of calorie or fat counting; they are merely attempts to lose weight for the sake of a smaller skirt size. Other diets, however, are a prelude to the kind of problem with food that has nothing to do with shape or size but rather emotional issues which, if left undetected, could bring a child to the brink of a serious eating disorder. The line between one and the other is sometimes hard to determine and many girls slip over that line quickly and quietly. Outlining the findings of his original research - that there are three distinct stages of eating disorders - Dr. Michael Stroeber helps parents detect the severity of a child's weight issues and helps them steer her clear of - or manoeuvre herself off - a slippery slope that could lead to Anorexia Nervosa.