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I’ll be writing the Weighty Wisdom articles for this
website. I’m a registered dietitian living and working
in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, location of Central Michigan University,
home turf of CMU Public Broadcasting—sponsor of this
site with Sound Partners! I wear many hats—private practice
dietitian, part-time faculty member at CMU, and clinical faculty
member of the Ellyn Satter Institute (more on this later),
as well as wife and mom. I’ve been a dietitian since
1987 and have worked in mid-Michigan for 12 years, specializing
in feeding, eating and weight issues for children and adults,
including clinical eating disorders. My own children are big
kids now—17, 14 & 11—and I’m pleased to
report that I’m no longer covered with baby emissions,
plucking rice out of the carpet, or trying to decipher meltdowns:
hungry, honey? thirsty? tired? hot? possessed by aliens?...
Having survived to tell the tale, I’ve learned a lot
along the way, from the usual professional development we
dietitians engage in, of course, but mostly from my clients
and my own children. Let me start by putting your mind at
ease—I love to eat and I believe healthy bodies come
in a variety of sizes. That’s my bias and the starting
point for all my work. I passionately believe this is the
best way to approach nutrition and eating changes—especially
when it comes to what we’re supposed to think and do
about weight.
In working with children with weight issues, there are three
basic goals: first, figure out if something is truly wrong
with the child’s weight; secondly, if so, figure out
what went wrong; and third, help the family implement changes
so that the child can get back on track and eat as well as
possible, move in joyful ways and have the best possible body—for
him or her. Does this mean that all my clients, young and
old, end up thin? Of course not—that’s not the ideal
for many. But I aim to help families learn about nurturing
feeding, good nutrition, disease prevention (especially for
higher risk families), fun physical activity and positive
sense of self when kids (and parents) don’t fit the mold.
Notice how often I mention families when discussing children’s
weight. That is because if we are going to have kids grow
as well as possible, adults have to be in charge. Nutrition
education in the schools is great—but in order to actually
change behaviors, adults have to manage the feeding at home.
The stronger the foundation laid in early childhood, the fewer
the problems to deal with later on.
My training in how to feed children and prevent and treat
childhood obesity comes from Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian
and clinical social worker from Wisconsin. Ellyn has become
a celebrity dietitian of sorts because she’s been a true
pioneer in the area of childhood feeding. She’s developed
a framework of understanding and working with feeding, eating
and weight issues called the trust model, which basically
says that children’s bodies know how to regulate and
grow well and consistently when adults support them properly.
I have used these methods from the beginning with my clients
and my own kids. As we try to understand and work with child
obesity, both for prevention and treatment, I believe Ellyn’s
work has never been more important. My goal for this website
is to explain how to apply the latest information from childhood
obesity researchers using the framework of the trust model
of feeding and eating. You’ll be getting interpretations
of the current research findings and recommendations that
are clear and accurate and shaped by how things work in the
real world, advice which is always respectful of our love
of food and emotional ties to eating. You’ll find that
the context of food and nutrition changes is as important
as the food itself. I think it’s our only chance to restore
balance and I believe what I have to say will make lots of
sense to you.
New columns will appear regularly. But I don’t want to
do all the talking on this website...please note that we also
want our site to be interactive! Check out our:
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