By Amy Pershing, LMSW, ACSW and Chevese Turner, founder of Bing Eating Disorder Association
Reviewed for IFEED by Janice Baker, MBA, RDN, CDE, CNSC, BC-ADM
For insights and valuable perspective into binge eating disorders, I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Working with patients for nearly 40 years with a variety of medical and psychosocial challenges, the clarity, practicality, support as well as science/medical references in this book are relevant to nutrition therapy and eating disorder practice in almost every setting I have worked in.
Early in my career, the promotion of numerous weight management approaches started to become notably magnified and highly lucrative. However, the under-the- radar collateral damage was rarely of topic of discussion in professional education. Seeing approaches to weight management in my community by inpatient management, witnessing tragic outcomes, including chronic and severe disabilities, bariatric surgery pre/post op patients, as well as diabetes management I strongly support this book as not only a resource for practicing RDNs but highly recommend as required reading in undergraduate coursework for nutrition science, exercise science, nursing and related degrees. The credentials and well described lived experiences of the authors, support my opinion of this book as a highly recommended resource, as the insightful and well researched information included are consistent with evidence-based science. As a CNSC RDN for several years, this is a particularly critical aspect of any recommended resource.
The book was organized well, and I especially appreciated the bibliography citations at the end of each chapter. Appendix A, “Online Resources for Community Building” is also an excellent and helpful reference for providing further support to our patients and clients.
I highly recommend this book for both treatment providers and patients. As an RDN for many years, I’ve had to seek out education, resources to recommend and support to help counter the damaging and condescending messages my patients have continuously received as part of our culture. Reading this book has greatly helped me improve my skills and provided me greater insights into the struggles that so many have, no matter what age or gender.