Polivy, Janet & Herman Peter. 1983. Breaking the Diet Habit. New York: Basic Books Inc.

Dieting leads to the suppression of internal cues to eat, bingeing, and eventual weight gain. Because food and weight questions become an important part of the dieter's existence and the means by which they measure self-esteem, dieting can be considered "a low-grade popular infection." Polivy and Herman's book is recommended for dieters, eating disorder sufferers and clinicians who want to better understand the complex relationship between dieting and bingeing.

Bennett, William & Gurin, Joel. 1982. The Dieter's Dilemma: Eating Less and Weighing More. New York: Basic Books Inc. Publishers.

Every individual inherits a "set-point" or genetically determined body weight that resists dieting and other weight loss interventions. Attempting to alter set-point weight causes acute physical and emotional distress that can only be relieved when natural body weight is restored. Because The Dieter's Dilemma provides an enlightening analysis of the conflicting literature on dieting and body weight, it is recommended for anyone with food and weight issues.

Brody, Jane. 1987. Jane Brody's Nutrition Book. New York: Bantam Books.

Jane Brody uses theories of natural weight, information about the failure rate of diets, as well as nutrition myths and facts to develop a well balanced program of "healthy" eating. If the section on weight control is ignored (Brody is still influenced by the myth that the obese eat more than thin people do), the book can be used as a guide for those wanting to explore the myths and realities of "health" foods.

Tribole, Evelyn and Resch, Elyse. 1995. Intuitive Eating. New York: St. Martin's Press.

A good resource for understanding the dynamics of dieting, and strategies for healthy relationships with food and body. The authors offer easy-to-understand, good information about the biology of food and weight and provide helpful strategies towards achieving healthy weights and positive body-image.

Kano, Susan. 1985. Making Peace with Food. Connecticut: Amity Publishing Co.

Weight preoccupation is caused by a combination of cultural, psychological and physical factors, including social pressures to be thin, individual feelings of low self-esteem, and the biological ineffectiveness of dieting. Kano uses an interactive and self-help style to develop the readers' understanding of the science of body weight, the effects of dieting, and the relationship between self-esteem and body weight.

Chernin, Kim. 1981. The Obsession. New York: Harper & Row.

Chernin argues that anorexia is a protest against oppressive ideal images of beauty that teach women they must deny their biological femaleness and make themselves look like "precocious children" in order to earn societal approval. As one of the most provocative socio-cultural explorations of the thin obsession yet written, Chernin's book is recommended for anyone interested in the feminist perspective.

Chernin, Kim. 1985. The Hungry Self: Women, Eating and Identity. New York: Times Books.

In this book Chernin continues her examination of women's socialization and develops the thesis, among others, that thinness gives women a ticket to the male world because it allows them to mimic the male. Women become embroiled in eating problems and use food and weight problems to distract themselves from the real issues. Like Chernin's first book, The Hungry Self is a fascinating socio-cultural analysis of eating disorders, a must for anyone interested in the feminist perspective.

MacSween, Morag. 1993. Anorexic Bodies: A Feminist and Sociological Perspective on Anorexia Nervosa. New York: Routledge.

A striking example of a "woman's" illness, anorexia has previously been studied in isolation from history and politics. This book explores a set of complex theories which together explain anorexia more adequately. Anorexia is treated as an example of how women both resist and are constrained by the cultural concept of the female body. Anorexia is examined as a strategy of resistance, which ultimately becomes its own prison.

Thompson, Becky W. 1994. A Hunger So Wide and So Deep. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Challenges the popular notion that eating problems occur only among white, upper-class, heterosexual women. Explores how race, class, sexuality, and nationality can shape women's eating problems.

Orbach, Susie. 1978. Fat is a Feminist Issue. New York: Paddington Press.

Orbach believes fat serves several functions: it can be used as a form of rebellion, can enable women to nurture themselves, can allow them to avoid being viewed as sex objects, and enable them to express their rage without having to voice it. While Orbach's book explodes myths about dieting and preaches self-acceptance, the underlying premise -- that one can and will lose weight if they ignore the weight issue and accept themselves -- may be insulting to whose women who are psychologically healthy and who are biologically larger than average. Orbach's later books show the development of more complex understandings of the issues and are worth reading.

Jacobs Brumberg, Joan. 1988. Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa. New York: Penguin Books.

Despite the recent epidemic of anorexia, this eating disorder existed long before our current preoccupation with thinness. This book offers a solution to the mystery of anorexia nervosa, exploring its historical roots from the fasting saints of the Middle Ages, through the fasting girls of the Victorian Era, up to present time. Suggests that a society that believes a woman "can never be too rich or too thin" actually recruits certain people into anorexia.

Bordo, Susan. 1993. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Untangles the myths, ideologies, and pathologies of the modern female body, exploring our fascination with food, hunger, desire, and control. Bordo traces parallels between the current prevalence of eating disorders with tension within consumer society, cultural ambivalence towards female appetite, and the contemporary backlash against women's power. Argues that as women "normalize" themselves by whittling down the space they take up, they give up mobility, energy, and autonomy.

Malson, Helen. 1998. The Thin Woman. New York: Routledge.

In contemporary society, 'anorexia nervosa' has become the name, and 'explanation' for, the extreme distress that many girls and women experience in relation to food, bodies, identity, and the seriously self-destructive behaviours that accompany this distress. Malson explores how psychoanalytic and post-structuralist theories apply to the category 'woman' and the implications for scientific knowledge. Shows how gender politics play a significant role in both the historical understanding and diagnosis of anorexia as well as contemporary medical discourse on anorexia.

Lawrence, Marilyn. (Editor) 1987. Fed Up and Hungry: Women, Oppression & Food. London: The Women's Press Ltd.

As an anthology of essays, the book explores food, sex and shame, the origins of anorexia in a patriarchal social & family structure, the relationship between level of education and anorexia, and bulimia nervosa, compulsive eating and fitness trends in a political context. Fed Up & Hungry provides a theoretically provocative political analysis of food, weight & shape issues especially for those interested in the feminist perspective.

Goodman, W. Charisse. 1995. The Invisible Woman: Confronting Weight Prejudice in America. Carlsbad CA: Gurze Books.

Challenges our most basic assumptions about causes and effects of weight 'problems' and compares the increasing hatred our society has for large women with other types of extreme bigotry and persecution. Reminds us that a woman's body is not a democracy about which others have the right to vote, and that no one will be free as long as women must maintain a certain weight and dress size to enjoy basic medical care, civil rights, jobs, and respect. Suggested as required reading for all medical and mental health professionals before they see another client.

Millman, Marcia. 1980. Such a Pretty Face: Being Fat in America. New York: W. W. Norton Co.

Examining organizations such as Overeater's Anonymous, the National Association to Aid Fat Americans, as well as the radical feminist analysis, Millman discovers that fat is interpreted by overweight women as a personal problem, a reason for social prejudice, or as a symbol of women's struggle to be seen as equal partners is this world. Although it doesn't address the scientific debate on overweight, Such a Pretty Face captures the personal, social and political struggles of fat women and, thus, is highly recommended for anyone affected by weight prejudice.

Schoenfielder, Lisa and Wieser, Barb. (Editors) 1983. shadow on a tightrope. Iowa City: Aunt Lute Book Company.

The argument here is that oppression of large women is not merely based on their larger-than-average size, nor on the apparent unhealthiness of fat, but on the fact that their size affirms the physical existence of the female and the symbolic strength of women. An anthology of essays, interviews and autobiographical sketches by women on fat oppression, shadow on a tightrope is recommended for anyone interested in a powerful exploration of what it means to be a fat woman in a thin-obsessed society.

Roberts, Nancy. 1985. Breaking All The Rules. New York: Viking Penguin Inc.

Nancy Roberts attempts to expose myths surrounding female fatness by exploring women's obsession with food, weight and shape issues, explaining why diets don't work, and challenging the common belief that fat is ugly and unhealthy. Breaking All The Rules is a light and enjoyable book for any woman looking for positive images of, and alternative role models for, fat women.

Vincent, L. M. 1979. Competing with the Sylph. New York: Berkeley Books.

Our society's "cult of thinness" is most profoundly felt in the world of dance. L.M. Vincent directly links the obsession with weight and shape to the development of eating problems by exploring dancers' relationships to food and their bodies. This engaging and well-informed thesis can be interpreted as an extreme example of the pressures all women confront, and, for this reason is recommended for professionals, clients and anyone affected by food and weight issues.

Wolf, Naomi. 1990. The Beauty Myth. Toronto: Vintage Press.

Wolf explores the relationship between women's status and power in society throughout the ages and exposes the detrimental effects of the "beauty myth" on society in general and women in particular. This book is easy to read and provides a basis for understanding socio-political issues which continue to oppress women.

Steinem, Gloria. 1992. Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem. New York: Little Brown & Company

One of the founding mothers of contemporary feminism has written a self-help book that transcends the genre. In lucid prose that is by turns brave and funny and tender, Steinem takes us on a journey, drawing from sources that range from Margaret Mead to Chief Seattle, from Alice Walker to the Upanishads, as well as from her own life and the lives of her friends and colleagues, providing a series of pathways to self-esteem.
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Orbach, Susie. 1986. Hunger Strike: The Anorectic's Struggle As a Metaphor for Our Age London: Faber & Faber.

Asserting that social forces have contributed to the epidemic of anorexia nervosa during the last 20 years, psychologist Orbach argues that sufferers must come to terms with psychological pressures against which they protest by starving themselves. Addressing both patients and therapists, Orbach cites case studies of all ages and personalities to demonstrate that the defeminizing of their bodies through anorexia is an unconscious attempt to deal with the contrasting roles of sex object, super-mom and career woman that society expects them to play. Her message: eating habits should be modified voluntarily, and only after the negative outside pressures have been understood by the person with anorexia.

Fairburn, Christopher G. 1995. Overcoming Binge Eating. New York: Guilford Press.

An authoritative and accessible self-help program for individuals with binge eating problems, this book can be used on its own or in conjunction with professional help. It offers a comparison between binge eating and everyday overeating, discussions of associated psychological, social and physical problems, research study outcomes, and treatment approaches.

Schmidt, Ulrike & Treasure, Janet. 1997. Clinician's Guide to Getting Better Bit(E) by Bit(E) : A Survival Kit for Sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorders. Sussex, UK: Taylor & Francis, Psychology Press Ltd.

A highly regarded book with strategies to support an individual who is recovering from bulimia or binge eating. This book can be used as a self-help manual, or in conjunction with professional help.

Berg, Frances, M., 2000. Women Afraid to Eat: Breaking Free in Today's Weight-obsessed World. Hettinger, ND: Healthy Weight Network.

Berg looks authoritatively at eating disorders, dysfunctional eating, size prejudice and "overweight". She draws on research and activities from a broad range of disciplines to illustrate her points. The book gives clear and specific guidelines on how women and those who work with women can bring about meaningful change to improve health and well-being.

Brown, Catrina & Jasper, Karin. (Editors) 1993. Consuming Passions: Feminist Approaches to Weight Preoccupation and Eating Disorders. Toronto: Second Story Press.

This book offers the reader the opportunity to explore a wide range of issues relating to food and weight preoccupation from feminist perspectives. Issues discussed include critiques of dieting and the links traditionally made between weight and health; the impact of narrow beauty ideals on diverse groups of women, emotional hunger, the connection between eating disorders, addictions and sexual abuse. It is divided into three sections: The context within which food and weight issues develop; issues in counselling; and community education and political action.

Fallon, Patricia, Katzman, Melanie A. & Wooley, Susan C. (Editors) 1994. Feminist Perspectives on Eating Disorders. New York: The Guilford Press.

A comprehensive analysis of a range of eating disorders, food and weight problems. This book looks at diverse issues such as obesity, adolescence, politics, advertising, education, medication and others. It looks at issues in the development, perpetuation and recovery processes as well as in prevention. Particularly useful for health care practitioners and students.

Bloom, Carol, Gitter, Andrea, Gutwill, Susan, Kogel, Laura, and Zaphiropoulos, Lela. 1994. Eating Problems: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Treatment Model. New York: Harper Collins.

Many treatments for eating problems make controlling the symptom their goal; this book demonstrates that this approach merely reproduces in the person the loss of agency created by internalized messages from a fat-phobic society. Only by understanding the symptom as an expression of the confluence of intrapsychic, interpersonal, and cultural experience can the therapist help the client learn to live in peace in her body. A discussion of the convergence of eating problems and sexual abuse extends existing theory about how consumer culture injures women and aggravates the wounds of abuse. Authors present a psychodynamic understanding of hunger, satiation, food, and body image.

Alexander-Mott, LeeAnn & Lumsden, D. Barry. (Editors) 1994. Understanding Eating Disorders. Washington, D.C: Taylor & Francis.

Examines the history, causes, psychopathology, and sociology of eating disorders and discusses issues of recovery and methods of treatment. Looks at eating disorders in both males and females in this multicultural society.

Treasure, Janet. 1997. Anorexia Nervosa: A Survival Guide for Families, Friends and Sufferers. Washington, D.C: Taylor & Francis.

This book is an attempt to answer questions such as, What causes eating disorders to happen? What will happen next?, What can we do about it? The book includes sections for parents and other caregivers alongside sections for the sufferer.

Robertson, Matra. 1992. Starving in the Silences. New York: New York University Press.

Explores the feminist and medical responses to anorexia and the issues that emerge. First, how does the label 'anorexia nervosa' make the experience of self-starving meaningful to the starver? Secondly, what does anorexia tell us about the experience and meaning of femininity in our culture and our subconscious?

Maine, Margo. 1991. Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters & Food. Carlsbad, CA: Gurze Books.

'Father Hunger' is the emptiness experienced by women whose fathers were emotionally absent, a void that can lead to unrealistic body image, yo-yo dieting, food fears and disordered eating patterns. Father hunger is a common phenomenon of Western culture, whose dictates and myths limit a father's role, creating a loss for all family members. Includes discussion of practical solutions to help readers understand and improve their father-daughter relationships and help families reconnect.

Waterhouse, Debra. 1997. Like Mother, Like Daughter: How Women are Influenced by Their Mothers' Relationship with Food - and How to Break the Pattern. New York: Hyperion.

In the majority of North American families, the ever-increasing pressure for thinness has created an almost universal shift toward body unhappiness, food fears, restrictive dieting, and weight struggles. An unhealthy relationship with food often begins with a mother's spoken and unspoken messages which initiate her daughter's fight against her own developing body. Like Mother, Like Daughter traces the spread of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction in each generation to more and more women and to younger and younger girls. Suggests skills needed to break free from this unhealthy cycle, pass on healthier eating patterns, and overcome weight obsessions.

Hutchison discusses how dieting represents a temporary solution to the complex problem of lowered self-esteem for women. A woman will only "feel good" as long as she remains thin, her temporarily elevated sense of self-worth plummeting when she (inevitably) re-gains the lost weight. Through reinterpretation of how women see their physical selves, they can develop a more secure sense of self-worth. Transforming Body Image is an enriching book for any woman, but especially for those who have had a personal history of dieting or disliking their bodies.

Linda Tschirhart Sanford and Mary Ellen Donovan. Viking Penguin Inc.: New York, 1984.

This book explores how women have been engendered with low self-worth through unhealthy family relationships and the surrounding social structures which continually reinforce their fundamental feelings of unworthiness. Women and Self-Esteem is an important pioneering work on the psycho-social roots of low self-esteem as well as a good practical manual for improving individual feelings of self-worth.

Loughead, Deb & Shipley, Jocelyn. (Eds.). 2009. Cleavage: breakaway fiction for real girls. Toronto: Sumach Press.

Siegel, Michele, Brisman, Judith & Weinshel, Margot. 1988. Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Families and Friends. Viking Penguin Inc.: New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Considered one of the first books to offer effective support and solutions for family, friends, and all others who are the "silent sufferers" of eating disorders, this book provides information on how parents, spouses, friends, and professionals can thoughtfully determine the right course of action in their individual situations. With its combination of information, insight, case examples, and practical strategies, Surviving an Eating Disorder opens the way to new growth and helpful solutions in your relationship with your loved one.

Ikeda, Joanne and Naworski, Priscilla. 1992. Am I Fat? Helping Young Children Accept Differences in Body Size. Santa Cruz, California: ETR Associates.

Designed for young adolescents and children, this book challenges narrow notions of healthy shapes and sizes in children, serving as a prevention tool for future generations who might develop eating problems. Am I Fat? tries to combat fat prejudice by developing the social understanding of children and offering coping strategies for young people in an increasingly appearance-oriented society. One aspect to question is the author's use of the word 'overweight.'

Berg, Frances M. 1997. Afraid to Eat: Children and Teen in Weight Crisis. Hetinger, ND: Health Weight Network

A comprehensive, well-researched and well written look at issues of food and weight facing children and teens in North American culture.

Cooke, Kaz. 1996. Real Gorgeous: The Truth About Body and Beauty. New York: W.W. Norton and Co.

A delightfully illustrated and humorously written exploration and explanation of adolescents' appearance related woes. Well written with lots of information and resources.

Friedman, Sandra Susan. 2000. When Girls Feel Fat: Helping Girls Through Adolescence. Toronto: Harper Collins.

Provides clear and proven strategies to deal with conflict, to recognize that worries about weight can lead to more serious problems, to maintain a connection when girls "tune out" and feel terrible about themselves. A book to help guide girls into healthy, confident womanhood.

Hirschmann, Jane R. and Zaphiropoulos, Lela. 1993. Preventing Childhood Eating Problems: A Practical, Positive Approach to Raising Children Free of Food and Weight Conflicts Carlsbad, CA: Gurze Books.

Offers a common-sense approach to healthy eating based on the method of self-demand feeding. Contrary to the belief that children must be forced to eat what's good for them, to clean their plates, and to avoid all sweets, the book presents evidence that children will naturally self-regulate their eating if rigid rules are not imposed upon them. Steps suggested to demystifying food and eliminating a lifetime of fears, fights, and anxieties around food, weight, and diet.

Levine, Michael P. 1987. How Schools Can Help Combat Student Eating Disorders. . West Haven: NEA Professional Library.

This book presents a comprehensive review of anorexia nervosa and bulimia and the roles that schools can have in preventing, identifying, and treating these disorders, and also provides case studies from the perspectives of actual students with eating disorders and their families.

Bode, Janet. 1997. Food Fight: A Guide to Eating Disorders for Preteens and Their Parents. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Bode describes symptoms, possible causes, and ways to deal with eating disorders. She includes many first-person accounts of children who suffer from eating disorders, as well as interviews with their parents, doctors, and other experts. Includes resource guides.

Pitman, Teresa & Kaufman, Miriam. 1994. All Shapes and Sizes: Promoting Fitness and Self-Esteem in Your Overweight Child. Toronto: Harper Collins.

Children, like adults, come in all shapes and sizes - short to tall and thin to fat. Because of our society's obsession with thinness, being larger than the current ideal isn't much fun. Almost nothing can be more painful for children than being teased about their weight. This is painful for parents to see, but dieting and strict fitness are definitely not the answer. This book shows how parents can help by increasing their child's overall fitness level through healthy eating and increased activity, and most importantly, bolstering their child's self-esteem by helping him or her develop a positive body image.

Ryan, Joan. 1995. Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters. New York: Warner Books.

A look at what happens in the real world of gymnastics and figure skating - virtually legalized and even celebrated child abuse. From starvation diets and debilitating injuries to the brutal tactics of some trainers and coaches, this book looks at a society obsessed with winning at any cost.