Mimi Nichter

The title is a bit of a misnomer- it should read what girls say about dieting and their parents. Richter based this book on a three year longitudinal study on teenage girls in the United States. With them, she discusses dieting, body image, the perfect weight and their parents' attitude towards these same topics. Richter writes in a straightforward, no nonsense kind of way about a subject that is difficult for many women to broach. Especially fascinating was the differing attitudes towards weight and body image between ethnic groups. While the white and hispanic women mostly share angst and dissatisfaction with their bodies, african american women were more likely to associate beauty with attitude and style. Personally this book gave me much food for thought about my own attitudes towards weight and how much, however unconsciously, I am imparting them to my children.… (mere)